Embrace It
by Glamagirl
Summary: Everyone is expecting him to succumb into the terrible claws of hate and she is pushing him to fall prey to it… would he stand strong?
1. Chapter 1

This is just a little nothing I came up with after watching last night's Raw. I'm always a sucker for the idea of forbidden romances instead of the usual lovely couple so I just had to write this. Enjoy.

**EMBRACE IT**

He needed to see Zack and make sure he was alright.

That was the only thought that was keeping him sane and in touch with his most sensible side. He needed to make sure his friend was okay… that he was going to pull out of this one.

'_This is all your fault.'_

Shaking his head as a way to escape those haunting words and clenching his jaw until it hurt, John Cena walked pass the nurses' station and headed straight towards the room he knew Zack was in.

He hadn't needed to arrive with the younger man to the hospital to know what room he was in, he had just needed to make one call to know everything and now, hours after he was moved to that room, John finally decided to make a visit.

It was long overdue and he knew it, but for the past hours of his life he has been battling with dark demons that wanted to consume him inside out and he didn't have it in him to visit Zack in that state.

No, he has needed to calm down first…

Breathing hard through his nose and pushing the door open, John took that first glance at the man laying over the hospital bed. He looked as if he was sleeping; eyes closed, features relaxed in a deep slumber as his usually spiked hair lay limp over the pillow.

"What are you doing here?"

Hearing the reproachful words but refusing to look at the source of them, John pursed his lips hard and focused his blue eyes on his friend.

"I came to see if he was alright." He said simply, his voice coming out as flat.

Snorting, the woman who has been sitting at the chair besides the bed let go of Zack's hand and faced him.

"Alright? He has a broken back, John! Of course he is not alright." Hissing through clenched teeth, Eve said, her liquid emerald eyes burning a hole in the older man's skin.

At those words, John closed his eyes and breathed in. Yeah, he already knew about the broken back… but he had wanted to make sure, to corroborate it with his own eyes.

"Are you happy about that? He might not wrestle again and it's because-"

"Of course I'm not happy about it!" He spat interrupting her, his hands closing into fists as he moved his face towards the woman.

He was angry, he had wanted to erase all traces of anger before showing up there but it has been futile. Eve's words were riling him up and he just had to make a mental countdown in his head to calm down.

"This is your fault and you know it. I don't even know with what face you dare to show up here, John. Just leave…"

"He is my friend and this is not my fault."

And in his mind he wanted to believe that it wasn't, quite the contrary. He has done everything he could to help his protégée; at first he has put a word on his favor with management, he has given his spot as a main eventer for the younger man to have a shoot at proving himself and he has even gone as far as to put his stamp of approval on Zack's ways of making himself be noticed.

After that he also did everything he could to keep him safe, but unfortunately Zack's friendship with him also made the former US Champion an easy target and yeah, Kane has used him to get to him. Meaning that everything that John has made for him ended being Ryder's demise.

"I never wanted this to happen." He said almost brokenly, looking at Zack.

"But it did, and the only one to blame here is you." Eve said, getting up to her feet and walking to him. "So why don't you just leave him alone. You've done enough and he doesn't need you here."

Slowly moving his face towards her, John's eyes fluttered half close as he stared at her intently. She looked tired, her make-up had long ago faded away with what he believed could he her tears and her eyes were bloodshot.

Looking at her made him feel a new bolt of anger hit him from head to toe and he snorted bitterly. "So I shouldn't be here? Eve, I've been friends with him longer than you started to notice him so if there is someone who shouldn't be here, it's you."

"Who do you…" She started to say angrily, but John brushed her off and continued to speak.

"The man has been after you since forever and it wasn't after he won gold that you started to hang by his side day in and day out. Well I have newsflash for you, he lost the gold so why don't you leave him and start pestering someone worthy of you?"

At his words, Eve lifted a hand and slapped him right in the face. It stung, but he probably would have let it go in any other occasion… but those demons that wanted to win over him stepped forward and made him act in the wrong.

Taking her by surprise, he grabbed her by the hair and pushed her to the bathroom. The door has been wide open and at reaching distance so it was easy to get her there.

"What do you think you are doing?"

Next thing he did, he did it without thinking clearly; he just closed the door, cornered her against the sink and kissed her.

At that Eve hit him hard on his chest, her small hands beating at him in unmercifully as an attempt to push him off. But as much as she tried, John just pressed harder against her.

Moving his hands to the back of her head, John forced his tongue into her mouth. Deep in his mind he knew he was in the wrong and not only because he was forcing a kiss on someone, but because this was Eve, the girl his friend was infatuated with.

The same friend that was lying brokenly in a hospital bed because of him…

But there was no reason that could make him stop, he was releasing his anger in the form of this kiss and since she was the one who pushed his buttons this time, it was only fair that she was at the receiving end.

With his mind clouded and his anger rising, John pushed his tongue even deeper, moving it against her warm one and savoring her taste.

She tasted like coffee and it came into his mind that she must have been drinking tons of it as she stood vigil over Zack and that almost made him feel guilty.

Almost…

But not wanting to think any more about gilts, John moved his hands to her waist and lifted her off the floor to put her over the sink; once there, he accommodated himself between her legs and pushed against her until the back of the head was resting against the mirror.

After that he kept kissing her, he kissed her until her hands on his chest gave up on hitting him and instead moved around his neck, until her face stopped trying to sneak away and she was just tilting it to the right so he could have more room to kiss her at will… until she was kissing him back with the same force that he was kissing her.

The primitive side of him continued to devour her with his kiss and feeling himself stirring to life at the way things were going, John groaned into her mouth and pushed his hardness into her.

Her response was a favorable one, she arched her back to him and her fingers moved to the back of his head, keeping him close and deepening the kiss. But then, he finally pulled his face away to look at her.

Her eyes were a stormy pool of green staring into his, her lips were parted and reddened by the abuse his inflicted on them and her cheeks were flushed. Her breaths were also a bit labored like his own and it took a moment for him to regain his composure.

His demons flew away and he was left confused and ashamed.

"I'm sorry… I shouldn't have…" Mumbling under his breath, John took a step back and ran his hand down his face.

"No, you shouldn't have." Eve said in a whisper, sliding off the sink and getting back on her feet.

"I know… I don't… I'm sorry…" Swallowing hard down and turning around, John walked out of the room. Only that this time he didn't even had it in him to spare Zack a glance; he just walked out without looking back.


	2. Chapter 2

Okay, so I wanted to wait until the Royal Rumble or next Raw to see where this story line is going before writing next chapter but at the end I couldn't help it. If I waited, I probably wouldn't have written this chapter as I had it in my mind so here goes nothing. Enjoy and thank you very much for the great reviews ;)

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He woke up startled to the sound of a distant horn drilling into his mind; his body automatically jerking up and waking from the deep slumber it has been submerged into as his hands curled tightly around the steering wheel of his rental car.

For a couple of seconds he was disoriented, the notions of time and space were distorted in his mind ad it wasn't until the first rays of light hit him full force in the face that an idea of what was going on and how he ended up passing out in his car started to settle in.

Kane…

Last night after fleeing from the hospital, he has been resolved on finding the Big Red Machine and making him pay for the hell he unleashed on him and Zack.

He made a couple of calls; none of them were able to help him locate the man so he started to make a search of his own. He roamed the hotel, he tried to bribe the front desk clerk to tell him if there was a Kane registered in and when that proved to be ineffective, he went out to the street to find him.

It has been the gym first, then a couple of restaurants and at last the local bars… what he still didn't have clear was how come that he ended sitting in stool ordering drink after drink after drink…

Lifting a hand in the air and running it down his face, Cena cleared his throat and made to start the car. He wasn't sure of what time was it but he knew it was time to move on and make it out of wherever the hell he was.

But before he could even reach for the keys that were hanging from the ignition, his phone started to ring.

Picking it up and glancing briefly at the hour, the former champion answered with a low groan that he had to wrestle out of his throat. "Hello."

"Have you embraced it yet, John? Have you allowed the hate to flow from your guts and reach up to your heart?"

Recognizing the voice and gripping the phone as hard as he could, John snarled his lips as a new wave of anger hit him like a bolt of lightning.

It was Kane, the one man he wanted to find more than anything else in the world. God, if he could only lay his hands on him…

"How did you get this number?"

The man at the other side laughed. "Maybe I took certain Long Island resident's phone and called you. For some reason he left it behind at the arena last night."

"That's bull crap; tell me where did you get it?" He asked knowing he wasn't calling from Zack's phone because the number did not register in his iPhone.

"Why don't you come to me and ask me in person, I'll be more than happy to answer all of your questions."

"Oh, just tell me where you are and trust me, you won't be in the mood of answering anything once my foot is in your mouth."

Kane laughed again and at the eerie sound John started to sear. "I'll give you a hint. Look up…"

Unable to help it, John's blue eyes looked up and through his window he saw the hospital he visited last night. He didn't recall making it back there but apparently he did.

"I'm standing in a white room and there is a sleeping internet sensation or may I say, a man with a broke back…"

Before Kane could finish talking, John opened the door of the car, jumped out and started to run. He left his phone forgotten in the seat or it probably rolled down to the street; he wasn't really sure, all he knew was that he had to make it to Zack's room.

So he ran blindly, making it into the lobby and taking the stairs instead of the elevator. Once at the floor, he moved with an ease that he wouldn't have believed ten minutes ago and after what he catalogued as an eternity, he burst into Zack's hospital room.

What he saw inside made him halt, his lips pursing into a thin line and his eyes blinking one and then two times.

"Hey bro, I thought you were not going to show up." Zack said with a forced smile as he looked up to the older man from his spot.

He was sitting in the bed, looking pale and a little banged up but not too bad for a man with a broken back. He even had a tray of food in his lap and apparently, before he got there he has been eating from it.

There was no sign of Kane that he could see.

Ah, but Eve was with him, sitting in the same chair he has seen her in last night and wearing the same clothes and the same heated expression in her eyes. She didn't seem happy to see him back there…

Shaking his head and looking back at Zack, John puffed out a breath. "Yeah, I came to see how you were doing."

Wincing, Zack looked at Eve briefly before looking back at him. "I've been better, but don't worry bro, because in no time I'll be fist pumping Kane's ugly face…"

"No fist pumping for a while, Zack; you need to get better first." Eve said almost tenderly but looking at John and at that John squinted his eyes.

"I know, I know." The younger man said after taking a long sigh.

"So how's your… back?" John asked, wanting to get an update on it because really, he didn't look like a man with a broken back would.

Not that he was a doctor or anything, but still…

"Herniated disk, but I'll…"

"Oh really?" John said, interrupting him. "I talked to Eve here last night and she told me you had a broken back." He said reproachfully because after those words, he had gone through a personal hell.

He has been in a bad guilty trip about it all and if there was anyone responsible for that, it was the damn woman.

"That was what the doctors said at first, I didn't make it up." She said, her green eyes lighting up as she looked defiantly at him.

"Are you serious? No… no broken back… can I ask for a favor, John?"

"Sure, just ask and I'll do it." He said without thinking as he walked to the bed.

"Eve has been here all night long, she hasn't sleep at all and I was wondering if you could take her back to the hotel for-"

"I'm fine; I don't need to go to the hotel." She said through clenched teeth.

At those words, John tilted his head to the side and took a long look at her as she and Zack engaged in a soft argument of why she should let John take her to the hotel.

She really looked as if she needed a good rest but he wasn't eager of being the one to take her out of the hospital… not after what happened the previous night.

To that moment, he still couldn't explain what got over him. He wasn't the kind that allowed his anger to take him to those levels and somehow he ended up doing something he hadn't done before in his life, he forced himself to a woman.

Sure, it has been only a kiss, but it was still a forced kiss.

"Well then I'll take a taxi, we don't need to worry John with this."

"Are you crazy? With Kane on the loose out there? No, I don't want him to get you alone, the man is a psycho and who knows what he'll do to you."

"He's right." John said flatly. Maybe escorting Eve safely back to her room would be a good way to redeem himself after their last encounter.

He could even apologize once again.

At that, Eve shook her head but she did it absent mindedly; as if she was thinking it over.

"I'll just drop you there, make sure everything is alright and that's it." He said, trying to convince her that he wasn't planning on anything funny because he wasn't.

"I don't have a room; I was supposed to take a flight back home last night."

"I'll let you stay in mine; just as long as you check it out this same afternoon."

"See, everything is settled…" Zack started to say and John mumbled something about waiting for Eve down in his car.

With that settled, he walked down, looking everywhere he could in case Kane would show up out of nowhere. He knew he had to be around, after all how else did he know he has been outside in his car?

He had to be watching them… and for that reason he remained standing outside the car, a silent dare to make Kane come over him.

Thing that never happened of course and his only accomplishment of standing there was that he spotted his phone between his car and the sidewalk.

Eve walked out about fifteen minutes after him and made it straight towards John's car. She got in without speaking and it wasn't until they were halfway through that she decided to talk.

"Don't tell Zack about last night." She said, her tone coming off as petulant and with a hint of anger.

"Yeah, about that-" He started to say, ready to apologize.

"I don't want to hear it; just don't tell Zack about it and I won't mention it either."

Snorting bitterly and looking at her briefly, John shook his head. For some reason, the fact that she was ordering him not to say a thing bothered him to no end. Maybe it was because of his current mood or because his nerves where on edges and at the point of breaking; he wasn't sure, but that her words irked him there was no doubt.

"And what is it what you don't want me to tell him, that I kissed you or that you ended up kissing me back?"

Tilting her head towards him and piercing him with the intensity of her green eyes, Eve pursed her lips. "Zack idolizes you; for some reason he thinks you are the best thing that walks around so if you really care if it's only the sightless bit about him, you won't tell him."

Ah, guilt again… sweeping him inside out with its poisonous claws.

Nodding and remaining silent, John kept driving; his mind running a thousand miles per second as Eve sat by his side.

"God, I don't even know how you showed up to him reeking of booze and wearing the same thing you wore last night." She mumbled loud enough for him to listen. "The best thing you could ever do is leave him alone."

Clenching his jaw as hard as he could, John swallowed down. No, he wasn't going to answer back; he only needed to make it to the hotel, get her into his room and move on.

Fortunately, it wasn't a long drive and before he could lose it once again, they were already in his room.

Eve went directly into his bathroom to take a shower and John started to pick his things to pack them. It wasn't an arduous job because he didn't even spend the night in so he never properly unpacked. So once that was done, he walked to the sink that stood outside the bathroom and washed his face and his mouth.

He also needed a fresh change of clothes so taking the opportunity that Eve was in the shower, he took off his shirt.

Who knew, if Eve was quick about her shower he could even take one himself.

Shrugging and throwing his used shirt into his suitcase, John bent down to pick another one, but before he was able to do it, his phone started to ring.

Tensing up but immediately getting back to his feet to answer his phone, John closed his hand into an angry fist. "What is it now?" He answered in a bark because he knew who it was.

"What would your beloved Zack Ryder think if he knew you and his girlfriend are together in your hotel room?"

"Why don't you cut the crap and tell me where you are?"

"Why don't you ask the girlfriend, maybe she was the one who called me from her shower and told me where you were." With that, Kane hung up the phone.

Blinded with a new wave of rage, John threw his phone against a wall and saw it fall to the floor shattered. Afterwards he started to pace back and forth around his room. What was Kane talking about? Eve… why would she?

Shaking his head but his mind invaded with wild thoughts, John turned around and walked to the door of the bathroom before opening it up with a bang.

"Get out, now." He commanded, his voice leaving no doubt that he meant business.

Eve didn't say anything, the only sound was that of the shower running and that only rose more suspicious on John's part.

"I said get out!"

At that, Eve's head peeked out and she started directly at him. "I'm taking a shower, why don't you-"

Not minding her, John threw a towel her way and repeated once again. "Get out."

Blinking rapidly and disappearing behind the curtain, Eve turned off the shower and stepped out with the towel around her soaking body.

"I don't know what the hell is wrong with you, John; but if you think you can-what are you doing?" She yelped when John grabbed her by the chin and forced her to look up into his eyes.

"Where is your phone?" He asked through clenched teeth as his eyes delved critically into her own.

"Are you crazy?" She spat indignantly, trying to push his hand away.

But John was stronger than her, plus the factor anger was making him have the upper hand so he just tightened his hold on her and pushed her back against the wall.

"Have you been calling him? Answer me." He hissed, his hand moving from her chin and settling around her neck.

He didn't hurt her though; he just curled his hand to her throat and kept her in place.

On her part, Eve looked at him dead in the eye. "Get your hands off of me."

"Where is your phone?" He asked again, looking down to her body and deciding that there was no way she had it on her. But maybe it was in the shower so he turned his head to the side and took a look in.

There was soap, shampoo and conditioner, but no phone.

"How did you call him?" He asked, pressing his body to hers and remembering how it easy it has been to kiss her last night.

He would only have to lower his face towards hers and cover her mouth with his.

Maybe she would struggle at first, but he was almost sure that with a little bit of persuasion, she would end kissing him back again and who's to say he would stop this time?

No, this time was different. This time he knew her to be the one that was feeding Kane with information. She was a traitor… and with the way she was looking at him he could tell she wouldn't put any kind of resistance to him

Maybe she even wanted it…

Forcing his thigh between her legs, he pressed even harder against her. Her body was there for him to claim, covered only by a thin wet towel that wasn't leaving much to his imagination… a little pull at it and it would come off.

She liked games, uh? Well he could play games too. "Tell me… Eve" He said as his hand moved down to her hip.

"Tell you what, John? I haven't called anyone! I don't even have my phone here, I left it at the arena last night with the rest of my things." She said pushing him away.

He moved easily, but as he stepped back she remained there, looking at him as her hands clutched tight at her towel.

He took another step back and ended up sitting in the closed lid of the toilet seat and once settled there he cradled his face into his hands and breathed out.

"I'm sorry; I don't know what's happening to me. I'm just…"

God he was losing it… Kane was making him lose it and he didn't know how to stop it… all he knew was that he wasn't acting like himself and that only meant that Kane was wining… and he was losing.


	3. Chapter 3

Short update, totally inspired by the way Eve kept stealing glances at John when Zack was passed out in the ring last night at the RR. Enjoy!

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"You are letting him get into your head."

Hearing the words but responding only with a dry chuckle that held no trace of amusement, John Cena shook his head from side to side and breathed in. Other than that he did and said nothing because really, what could he possibly say to that?

Apologize? Blame the way he was losing his mind on Kane and hope that his actions could be justified?

No, he liked to think that every man was responsible of his own acts and he was not the exception. He was losing it because he was letting it happen and if he didn't stand strong and fight back, he was going to end up doing exactly what Kane wanted him to do.

And he couldn't let that happen…

Oh but how right were her words… for someone who went around preaching about rising above the hate and not letting anything break him down, he was letting the Big Red Machine prove to the world that getting into his skin was easy; that shaking the foundations of everything he believed himself to be could be achieved only by playing sick mind games on his expenses.

"Getting you like this is exactly what he wants; he wants to break your spirit to make you vulnerable. Or do you think he attacked Zack only because he is a sadistic monster? No John, he did it to get to you and-"

"I know," He hissed angrily through clenched teeth, dragging his hands up to the top of his head but refusing to look up at her. "I know that everything that's happening to Zack is my fault so you don't need to remind me of it every chance you get. I feel awful already as it is so please, just don't… say anything."

Actually her words only served for his mood to sour and for his usually laid back demeanor to disappear for completely and that too, was a direct result on the games Kane was playing on him.

Opening his eyes and staring at the way his sneakers rested over the marble floor of his hotel bathroom, John felt as Eve placed a hand on his arm. The touch was gentle but firm and it prompted him to lift his face towards hers.

She was kneeling right in front of him, one of her hands touching him in the spot where his wrist and the rest of his arm meet and the other one holding the towel in place around her body.

"Is this how you plan on walking into your match with him at the Royal Rumble? Because if that's the case don't even bother, he has you defeated already."

The words were not kind, her tone was livid and the way her eyes dug critically into his were proof of her animosity.

"And what do you care?" He said, his eyes casting shadows everywhere he looked. "Stay with Zack and let me deal with this as I can."

"And how is it that you will deal with it John? Brooding in your rotten mood and with your nerves on edges? If he sees you like that he will know that using Zack is the easiest way to get to you and he will never leave him alone!"

"And what do you want me to do?" He said, his tone rising at the same time that he was hit with a huge wave of frustration. "I do what I can."

"Then you need to do more." She said calmly, her soft green eyes scanning his face as John stared at her.

Blowing out a breath, John dropped his hands from his head. One of them went directly to his lap and the other one automatically moved to the back of her head.

He didn't know why he did it, but when she didn't protest the touch he pulled her to him and as if it was the most natural thing in the world he pressed his mouth to hers.

At that first contact, Eve moved her head back, but John followed her with his lips at the same time that he put more pressure to his hand on her head, preventing her to break away.

Not that there was much to escape from, for a while the only thing he did was press his lips to her pliant and softs ones… but that wasn't going to be for long, oh no…

"Don't-" She mumbled against him and he took the opportunity to slide his tongue in, sweeping it against hers and muffling whatever protest she could have made at the invasion.

Now, at a different from that first shared kiss, John noticed that this time she tasted sweeter; there was that and also the fact that her resistance this time has been basically zero.

Other than that weak protest, Eve did nothing to stop him and in matter of nothing she was kissing him back; her lips parted to grant him access, her tongue melting and sliding hotly against his and her breath mingling with that of his own.

Motivated by her response and with his mind getting gravely compromised, John moved the hand that has been resting over his lap to her waist and settled it there.

But he wasn't the only one putting hands to use, Eve also moved her hand up his arm until it was resting against his naked chest. For a while it remained there, her fingers moving aimlessly until it moved to the back of his neck to hold him to her.

With the moment escalating in intensity and with the kiss growing hungrier and almost desperate with every passing second, John slid his hand down to her thigh before dragging it up once again, only that this time he moved it up underneath her towel, the contact of her bare soft skin beneath his fingers making him hiss into the kiss.

Moving her face away, Eve cleared her throat and left her eyes closed. "Wait… John; we can't."

Not minding her words and feeling as if he was someone else, John lowered his face to her neck and kissed her there, his lips and tongue moving along her skin until he reached a spot that made her shiver and bite down a moan.

As he did that, the hand beneath the towel kept moving, exploring her skin all the way from her hips to the underside of her right breast, going back and forth and every time going a bit further up.

He didn't exactly know what was making him act like that, the only thing that he knew was that kissing and touching his friend's girlfriend so intimately was making his cargo pants feel way too tight right in the front.

"John, I'm serious. Stop." Eve whispered, but instead of stopping when she placed both her hands to his chest to make him retreat, what John did was drag his lips back to hers and kiss her with renewed forces.

And for all her words, Eve let him kiss her without another word of protest; and when he got to his feet and dragged her up with him she let him too, one of her hands circling his neck as he pulled her up against him.

There was no Zack and no Kane in his mind that mattered in that moment, all he was focusing was in the woman rising on her tip toes to kiss him back. Focusing in the way her tongue matched his move for move, on the way her body pressed insistently to his while she was covered with nothing more than a thin towel and on the way her fresh scent invaded all his senses…

He has never thought of her like this, at least not before he kissed her last night… but even though that has been a kiss born out of anger and this one seemed to be consumed in raw passion.

And he wanted more, God helped him but he wanted… no, he needed more.

With a clear idea of what he needed, John sneaked his hands once again underneath the towel and went directly to the succulent flesh of her behind to press her against his trapped arousal.

It was in that moment that Eve pulled away once more. "No, stop it." She requested out of breath just as John lifted the towel up to her waist.

"What if I don't want to stop?" He said darkly, pushing his still clad erection against her stomach and then lowering down so it could brush against the wetness between her legs.

The touch has been through the thick fabric of his pants, but that didn't stop John from pushing hard against her. If he could he would have ripped his pants off in that moment just so he could have her right on the spot.

But Eve wasn't having any of that and as he seemed distracted by taking a look down at her newly exposed body parts, she pushed him away as hard as she could.

The push only made John retreat a small step and when he realized that his mind has been completely in the gutter, he blinked in confusion.

"Zack is supposed to be your friend, so act like it and leave me alone." She said angrily, pushing him out of the bathroom and locking herself inside once he was out.

When the door slammed in his face, John remained immobile for the longest while, his excitement deflating little by little until he was flat once again inside his pants and boxers.

While that happened, he was hearing nothing but an excruciating silence that was too loud for his taste...

Was he really about to do that with Eve? As he tried to look back at it he couldn't recognize his actions. Sure, he wasn't Saint Cena when it came to women but he has never before lost control like that.

And this wasn't any woman but Eve, Zack's Eve…

Running his hand up his face, John closed his eyes and cussed out loud. What the fuck was wrong with him?

"Eve, let me talk to you for a second."

His words were greeted by more silence and he opened his eyes to stare blankly at the door.

"I'm sorry okay… just… just don't tell Zack about this."

Nothing, Eve wasn't talking back to him so he pressed his forehead to the wooded barrier that separated them and breathed in.

"Eve… come on."

He was kind of expecting the woman to open the door and go off on him, reproaching about how he was taking advantage of her time and time again. Hell, she could even walk out and slap him and he would be happy, but nothing…

There was nothing coming from the other side of the door, just as there was nothing of the old John Cena inside of him…

"You are fucked up." He mumbled to himself, turning around and grabbing his things to leave.

Yeah, leave; he needed to gather himself before facing Kane because the one who was going to be dragged to hell was him, Kane…


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N:** Thanks so much for the great reviews, I'm glad you like this so far ;) This one is a little fill in, hope you enjoy.

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He was on an adrenaline high and he loved it. His heart was beating at continuous speed inside his chest, his breathing was ragged and more than a bit labored and he felt like he could take the world as his playground right in that moment.

It was been a while since he felt such an exhilarating feeling hit him full force and as he moved through the backstage corridors of the arena, he couldn't keep the big dimple smile from forming in his face.

It was good to feel like that; to feel more like himself and less like the empty shell he has been as of late. It was good to be the old John Cena once again.

Now, that his mood had increased in such a favorable manner was thanks to his number one enemy, Kane; because that night after weeks of mental turmoil and endless mind games that he seemed unable to win, he has finally been able to get the best end of a bargain.

Sure, he would have loved to do more than what he did but probably sensing that John was in full fighting mode, Kane has escaped through the crowd not to be seen for a while and for once, John Cena has ended the night victorious.

Ah, but getting to that mental state where he could pull that one hadn't been such an easy task; oh noooo, it has been a process of long days that he spent in a self-imposed reclusion, brooding in his house and thinking on ways to get out of the deep hole he has been pushed into.

And little by little he pulled through, his mood getting more positive as Eve's words danced inside his mind…

'You are letting him get into your head.'

That has been true and as he sat and thought, he came to realize that letting the Big Red Machine to get the best of him had been a matter of that, letting him get into his psyche. Once that one was clear, he elaborated a plan and he walked into the Royal Rumble meaning to carry it.

Now it was true that his match at the Royal Rumble hadn't gone as he had planned it and that once again Kane ended up using Zack as a pawn in his sick games and yes, John almost retreated back to the dark place he just crawled out of.

For a while he has been in the verge of retreating; watching Zack being taken away in a stretcher once again because of him has been a low blow… but clinging to his resolution of not letting Kane beat him mentally, he got back to his feet and decided to fight once again.

That was the reason why he made it to the arena earlier that night, he was determined to find Kane and make him pay.

He has waited and waited in a secluded locker room, waiting to get a glimpse of the man to teach him a lesson in respect. No one messed with John Cena and his friends and got away with it… oh hell no.

His cue came in Eve's match of all people; he has seen the woman walk into the ring with a terrified expression in her face, almost as if she knew something was going to happen and an alarm triggered within him.

Seeing her like that reminded him of the previous night when she has silently walked after Zack's stretcher, worried tears sliding down her face as her eyes refused to meet John's.

Sure, he has half noticed that the woman had stolen a few glances at him while Zack was being attended, but because he has been submerged in his own worry, he barely noticed. After that she didn't look at him, she didn't talk to him and she carried on as if he wasn't even there.

He hadn't expected any less after their last encounter and he decided that next thing he needed to do after taking care of Kane was clearing the air with Eve.

But anyway, the match didn't last even five minutes and that was when Kane's music started to echo all over. He saw the video and heard his words and when the damned monster basically said that he was going after Eve, he didn't wait another second longer to run out of the room and make it out.

Now, several minutes later he was walking back, his lips curving into a satisfied smirk and his spirits soaring.

It just felt damn good to…

"Did you hear what he said?"

Recognizing the trembling voice and turning around to face the source of it, John bit lightly on his bottom lip and blinked slowly.

Eve was right there, her green liquid eyes shining, her mascara all ruined and running down her pale face, her hair looking anything but immaculate and her jaw tensed up. Quite honestly she wasn't looking her best and he could understand why.

"I heard but don't worry, I'm not going to let him do anything to you." He said, his voice coming off as flat and almost robotic.

At those words, Eve pursed her lips and shook her head. "He said that he wasn't going to stop hurting Zack until you gave him what he wants so what are you going to do?" After asking him that, she lifted her head high and locked her eyes with his.

Lifting his hand and running it down his clean shaven jaw, John breathed in. "I can't do that." No, he wasn't going to 'embrace the hate' as Kane wanted him to do.

He just wasn't going to stop being everything he ever was just because Kane being the sadistic bastard that he was wanted him to drag him down that path. No… had almost let him do it and the results that he got were ones he didn't like.

He wanted to be no one else but himself and to do that he needed to rise above the hate, not embrace it.

"Why don't you for once stop being so self-centered?" Eve said out loud, her pretty face contorting into a grimace as she stepped forward to poke him hard in the chest with her forefinger.

"Eve, listen-" He started to said, pushing the inside of his cheek with his tongue as he looked up to the ceiling.

"No, you listen to me John; not everything that goes around the world is because of you! You are not the center of the universe and if you wouldn't be so arrogant you would do this little thing just to keep Zack safe!"

"Oh I'm arrogant?" He asked in a chuckle; it was the first time he ever heard someone call him that and for some reason that amused him.

He wasn't arrogant… at least he didn't think he was.

At that reaction, Eve's eyes widened up and she dropped her finger away from him. She just stared at him without blinking and then she started to act again.

Biting on her lips she lifted her closed fist and slammed it hard to his chest, one and then two times. "You laugh? Kane just said that he is going to bend and break your friend and that's what you do, laugh?" After saying that, she continued to hit him and even though he has endured worse than an upset woman's punches, he was getting a bit annoyed.

Groaning at both the way she twisted his words and by the continued abuse she was inflicting on his chest, John grabbed her hands and immobilized her.

"Calm down okay, that's not…" He started to say but apparently Eve just went crazy. She was now trying to sneak away from his hold but at the same time she was using her legs to punish him, trying to kick her way out.

Biting hard on his tongue and still holding her arms, John easily swirled her around and once her back was to him, he breathed out.

"Are you going to calm down?" He asked, but when she elbowed him in the stomach he just had to hold her tighter.

"I'm not going to calm down!" She yelled, her voice strained and a bit shaky. "Let me go."

It took him a while to realize that she was crying, or at least he thought she was. Yeah… she just had to be, her body was slightly shaking against him and the deep breaths that she was taking confirmed his suspicions.

"Now you are the one letting him get into your head." He whispered, lowering his face until his chin was resting at the top of her head.

As her only response Eve shook her head and John felt a bolt of impotence run down his spine. As a rule, he hated to see women crying, but having this specific woman showing her vulnerable side to him was a bit too much.

He has always seen her as a fierce strong one and now Kane had messed her up too. Who knew? Maybe he has been part of that change too.

"Everything is going to be fine, I'll take care of it." He said, releasing her hands and wrapping his arms around her.

Surprisingly, Eve didn't try to get away; she just remained there, molded to him as John tilted his head so he could bury his nose into her hair.

Inhaling her scent and feeling as she lifted her hands to wipe at her tears, John closed his eyes and breathed in.

"Well, well, well. Isn't this such a cozy scene?"

As soon as that voice was heard loud and clear, Eve tensed in his arms and John immediately let go of her to turn around. What he saw was the imposing figure of Kane standing at the end of the corridor and at the only sight of him, he felt his blood start to boil as it ran through his veins.

"I wonder what Zack would think of it." After saying that, Kane stepped back and disappeared from their sight.

Moved by pure instinct, John's feet were put into motion and before he knew it he was running after Kane; only that when he reached the corner there was no one… just a long deserted corridor that lead to an exit door.

"John, wait!"

Not listening to any word, John ran to the door and got out. But once again there was no one there, not even a trace of Kane. The only thing he encountered was a chilly night…

"Son of a bitch." He cussed, his head moving from side to side as he kept searching.

"John?"

Blowing out a breath and placing both hands to his head, John turned around to find Eve standing by the door. She was still looking pale and distressed, but there was a new trace of composure in her that made John stand and watch.

But then he shook out of his trance and walked to where she was, stopping only when he was a few paces away from her. "Come on, let's get out of here." He said, looking back, hoping to see Kane lurking around.

But he wasn't so pursing his lips, John turned towards Eve and got back into the arena once again.

He knew the man was close and probably looking at them, but apparently he still had a few mind games under his sleeve that he wanted to pull out.

Not that it mattered of course, because John had a counter attack to his mind games and it consisted on beating the man to a bloody pulp… the only thing he had to do was wait…


	5. Chapter 5

Once again I have to thank you for the amazing reviews, they are great. Now, I wanted to write this chapter during the weekend but I decided to wait and see what happened in Raw; unfortunately, there was no John/Eve interaction but the last scene was Eve and Kane so let's see what I can do with that… eventually. Anyway, I wrote this one in a hurry before going to work so I hope it doesn't disappoint ;)

XxXxXxXxX

The last person on earth John has expected to see as soon as he arrived to the hospital where Zack was being attended was Eve. Not that he was really surprised to see her there; after all it was the woman's boyfriend the one in floor nine, laying in a hospital bed after being injured once again at the hands of Kane.

But if anything, the former WWE Champion had expected to find her in Zack's room, sitting by his side, holding his hand and watching over him with continuous preoccupation. More or less like he found her that first time the younger man ended up in a hospital bed and John had visited him.

But instead of that repeated scenario, John saw Eve as soon as he stepped into the hospital, as she was walking into a small gift shop located near the elevators.

Unable to help it, John halted on his tracks as soon as he saw her, his blue eyes drinking on her image as he stood frozen in his spot.

Now Eve… the last time John has seen the pretty Diva had been two nights ago when he dropped her right in front of her hotel room. It has been on the same night when he finally got to beat the crap out of Kane and yeah, same night also when the so called Big Red Machine went after the woman in a sadistic attempt of getting him to react.

And react he did, oh yeah he did. At the first sign of the man he has run down the ramp so he could give the monster a taste of what he could really do, and that was of course kicking some ass.

All that has been two nights ago, but still to that day John could remember with exact detail everything that went on. Starting with how sweet it has been to teach Kane a lesson in respect, following with a very stressed Eve that broke down in his arms and then, ending with Kane tracking them down and forcing John to chase after his shadow.

But back to the present, Jon tilted his head to the side and observed from a distance that Eve was looking a hell of a lot better than what she did that past night; her hair was falling down her back in soft waves, her cheeks and lips held some color on them and her eyes were not watery but clear and sparkling.

In a weird kind of way it was endearing to see her like that and wanting to soak himself in the huge wave of positivism that was coming his way, he took her improved appearances as a good sign that things were going to be alright once and for all.

Yeah, as long as he remained true to himself, only good things would lay ahead.

Smiling his patented dimple smile, John took hold of his cap and pulled it further down his face, enough so it would shadow his eyes. Once that was done, he blew out a breath and decided that he should keep moving and check on Zack before the visiting hour ended.

Time to make it to his friend was ideal now that Eve wasn't there, because truth be told he has been postponing that visit as a way to avoid the uncomfortable moment of being in the same room with Eve and Zack at the same time.

Yeah, it was true that he has crawled victorious out of that dark mood that made him act in such an inadequate manner with his friend's girlfriend, but that he prevailed would never take away the fact that he has kissed her… twice.

And yeah, he had to admit that avoidance wasn't the most sensitive thing for him to do, but he didn't have it in him to tell Zack what he has done and since Eve told him once that she didn't want her boyfriend to know, he was going to leave it at that… as a mistake never to be repeated again.

It could be that by omitting those two moments as nothing more than a lapse of judgment went against all the things he believed in, but he would rather not hurt Zack with the truth, at least not for now.

Pursing his lips and nodding to himself, John started to move once again, but for a reason that he couldn't quite comprehend, his traitorous feet took a wrong turn and instead of heading towards the elevators, he found himself pushing the door of the gift shop open and walking inside.

He didn't know what got into him, all he knew was that before he could help it, he was making it to where Eve was standing next to a magazine stand.

Once standing right behind her, John hid his hands inside the pockets of his jeans and cleared his throat. "Hey."

Apparently a bit startled, John saw as Eve's shoulders tensed up and soon after, she turned her head to the side. When her eyes found him standing there she turned around and folded her arms to her chest. She didn't say anything though, just like two nights ago when he drove her to the hotel in case Kane would decide to follow her, she said nothing.

"I was walking by when I saw you here and well, I decided to stop by and see how you were doing." And for the love of Jebus, why was he rambling? Was it because of the way her green emerald eyes were digging into his blue ones with such an intensity?

Ah, that was ridiculous; it wasn't like he was really into the woman. Yeah he has kissed her and touched her and in one occasion he has wanted to do so much more than that but that was all in the past, in a time when he wasn't fully into his full capacity to think straight on the things he was doing.

Luckily for him, that was no more and the only thing he needed to do when it came to this woman now was forget the things that happened between them and keep living as he always did. He needed to ban from his mind the way her lips moved against his, the way her skin felt underneath his touch… and yup, just forget all that and keep very present that she was Zack's woman, supposed to be untouchable.

Blinking slowly and tilting her head up, Eve shrugged at his words. "I'm fine." She said, her tone flat and distant.

"Good, good… I just wanted to make sure." He said while his mind yelled at him to be done with so much nonsense.

He didn't walk into the hospital to see Eve, he came to see Zack.

"Anyway, I'm going to check on Zack before it gets too late." Receiving no vocal response on her part, John snorted and turned around, walking out of the store and heading into the elevators.

Now, he wasn't going to blame the woman for wanting to give him the silent treatment, in fact… he wasn't even going to think about her. There were many things that needed his attention and Eve was the last of them. First it was Kane and then Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson.

With everything that has been going on, he had forgotten about the wrestler turned actor and he needed to make sure to start preparing for his match against him at WrestleMania.

With that in mind, he made it to Zack's room, forced a smile upon his face and walked in. "Hey man, how are you doing?"

Looking up, Zack smiled and opened his mouth to reply. "Hey bro, I didn't know you were coming here."

Sitting at the chair besides the bed, John blew out a deep breath and took off his cap. "I almost didn't make it, I had a day full of media and you know how that is. I know it's late, but at least I made it before the visits are over. So what's up?"

Shrugging and his face lacking the usual enthusiasm that characterized him, the young wrestler sighed. "Not much, I've been in this hospital bed since forever. Bro, the food here blows and I can't wait to get out of here."

Nodding in sympathy, John bit his lips and then cleared his throat. "Yeah, I know how it is to be stuck in a hospital bed." And he did, last time he has been under the knife has been pure hell to him.

"I hate Kane." Zack said through clenched teeth. "But at least I've been working on some editing; I want to make something out of all the shows I've made."

"You don't worry about Kane, I'm going to take care of that Big Red monster." Of that he was sure; he was going to show him that rising above was all that mattered, that he didn't need to embrace anything.

"Yeah, about that; can I ask you for a small favor?"

"Sure, spill it out and it will be done." John said, resting his elbows over the bed while waiting for Zack to tell him what he wanted.

"I would do it myself but I can't do much from this place." Clearing his throat, Zack shifted where he sat. "It's Eve, I want you to take care of her. I know Kane said he was going after her and even when she won't admit it to me, I know she has been a bit upset about it."

At the request, John clenched his jaw and nodded. He hadn't been expecting that one; he was kind of anticipating to be asked to fist pump Kane back into hell or something like that… "Alright, I'll keep an eye on her."

"No, I need you to do more than keeping an eye on her, I want you to keep her with you as long as you two are on the road. John, I don't want Kane to hurt her."

Looking away from Zack, John breathed in. "He's not going to hurt her, I promise you that. But man, about keeping her with me all the time?" He snorted, looking briefly at his friend. "I don't think she will like that, I mean I don't think she likes me so much, you know?"

Casting his eyes down, Zack swallowed down. "John, I'm not stupid… I've seen the way her eyes shift away from mine whenever I mention your name; it's the same way yours do. Now I don't know what happened between you, but if you are the one that can keep her safe, then I'm not going to hesitate in asking you."

Forcing his eyes to fix into Zack's and feeling like the lowest scum in the face of the earth, John got serious. "Nothing happened between us but you know how women are; she worries about you and since she is kind of blaming me for Kane hurting you, she doesn't want to see my face around."

At that, Zack pursed his lips. "Sorry bro, I didn't want to say that… it's just that I'm just too stressed out about this."

"I know so don't worry." He said, forcing another smile.

"Eve is a good woman. I would say she's my princess Leia but I doubt I'm her Han Solo. Women like her never go for guys like me so you know, I get kind of bummed."

"Well she is your girlfriend, isn't she? She wouldn't be with you if it wasn't because you were the kind of man she goes after."

Chuckling bitterly, Zack shook his head. "I wish, but Eve is not my girlfriend. She's a good friend and you know how it is when you get stuck into the friend zone. It blows."

Pushing his back against the chair, John tilted his head to the side and squinted his eyes. "Well everybody thinks she's your girlfriend, even Kane."

"I know, that's why I need you to keep her safe. Would you do that for me?"

Wanting to say no but getting a glimpse of the way Zack was looking at him through pleading eyes, John swallowed on dry and blinked his eyes a couple of times.

Not his girlfriend… why was it that the newly found information was echoing in his mind like a broken disc?

Running a hand through his short hair and closing his eyes for a second, John spoke. "I promise… that nothing will happen to her as long as I'm around…"

TBC


	6. Chapter 6

Story wise, this happened on last Raw. It's a little rushed because I wanted to update before tonight so yeah, I hope you still like ;)

**XxXxXxXxXxX**

The last thing John Cena was expecting to see when he walked around one of the countless corners of the backstage area of The Chesapeake Energy Arena where the WWE was performing that night, was Eve with blood all over her face and being rushed to the back by some medical personnel.

The sight immediately made him halt on his tracks and as thoughts of the promise he made about keeping the woman safe as long as he was around started to invade his mind, the big dimple smile that has been gracing his features disappeared in an instant.

He forgot… for a few minutes he forgot about Eve and the menace she had upon her and now she was hurt as a result…

"Damn it, John." He mumbled guiltily, dragging his left hand down his face as his eyes followed the progress the pretty Diva was making through the corridors.

Ah, but losing sight of her has been a matter of nothing. Up until a few minutes ago he has been keeping truth to the promise he made to Zack and even though Eve didn't seem too content with it, he has always been around in case she needed something.

That same day he drove her from the hotel to the arena, and then once in the building he made a mental note to keep close just in case. Hell, he even checked the women's locker room before she got in and he even kept an eye on her as she was warming up for her match.

But then Eve herself told him in an edgy tone of voice that he was being too much and that he could go and do his own thing, that she was going to be fine.

Thing that clearly didn't happen, not if she was bleeding.

As he stood there frozen, his mind started to play with many possible scenarios of what could have happened, and all of those scenarios had one antagonist, Kane.

Yeah, Kane had to be the one who did that to her and because he has been too busy day-dreaming about Nascar and waving the green flag for the Daytona 500 later that month, he hadn't been there to protect her.

He got distracted and because of that, he failed on his promise.

Snapping out of his trance, the former WWE Champion put his feet back into motion and before he knew it, he was walking with secure steps after Eve.

"What happened?" He asked flat out loud as he walked into the room Eve has been rushed into.

By then the green eyed Diva was already sitting in a chair, her head thrown back and a small towel securely pressed against her face.

"Nothing happened," Eve replied, her voice a bit muffled but still having an edge to it.

Not minding her words and only half aware that the paramedics moved out of his way as he approached the bleeding woman, John knelt right in front of her and clenched his jaw until all the muscles of his neck were strained.

He couldn't help feeling like that, just thinking about Kane hurting her to get to him made his blood boil and his mood sour. It was simply a complete abuse of power, Kane was stronger and he outweighed her by more than a few hundred pounds… and Eve… she was just a woman; fierce when she wanted to and strong to a certain point, but just a woman nonetheless.

"What did he do? Tell me so I can find him and kick all the teeth out of his mouth." He hissed angrily, closing his hands around the chair she was sitting on.

Groaning, Eve shook her head. "I'm fine, I just got a bloody nose in my match. Can you just go and leave me alone?"

Blinking slowly, John pursed his lips and tilted his head to the side. For a few seconds he studied her and with a clearer mind he started to analyze the situation.

If she has been hurt by Kane like he thought at first, Eve would be more distressed than annoyed; he knew because the big Red Machine seemed to unnerve her like no other. So yeah, maybe it wasn't what he was thinking.

"Let me see." He said, his jaw relaxing but his eyes refusing to leave her. Even though Kane had nothing to do with her bleeding nose, he couldn't help but to feel a bit worried about her.

"No, just go, John. I'm fine." She mumbled, holding the fabric of the towel pressed hard against her face and keeping her eyes closed.

Still watching her and his lips curving into a faint smile, John cleared his throat and nodded; but instead of standing up to leave the room, he placed his hands at each side of her head and tilted it down.

"Lean forward, if you push your head back the blood could get down your throat and trust me, that's not a nice feeling."

At his words, Eve opened her eyes and looked up, immediately fixing her gaze deep into John's blue serene orbs.

"So are you a doctor now?"

Snorting and moving his hands so he could brush her hair out of her face, John lowered his eyes to the towel and then back into her eyes.

"Nope, but I've dealt and seen more than a few bloody noses in my life and well, I know how it goes." Pushing the inside of his cheek with his tongue, John shrugged and tilted her head back down.

"I'll keep it in mind," She said as John watched the way her hair fell down to her shoulders.

"I thought Kane did this to you when I first saw you." He said almost in a whisper while taking the towel off her face and inspecting her nose. The blood wasn't flowing anymore, but there were still traces of it in her skin and he kindly wiped at them until her face was clean.

Pursing her lips and blinking slowly, Eve shook her head. "It was Beth, it's nothing."

Nodding, John took notice that her revolutions had lowered down and for an instant he felt like casually mentioning the conversation he had with Zack, the one where the younger man confessed that Eve wasn't his girlfriend but just a friend he liked.

Not that he would change things by talking about it with her because friend's girlfriend or not, Zack was really into Eve and even though the feeling may not be reciprocated, he knew about how the self-proclaimed internet champion felt and he couldn't do that to him.

Never mind that the woman would respond to him like a fuse ready to be fired every time he touched her or that she would give into his kisses in a way that could make any man with a little blood in his veins lose all his composure… no, never mind about that as it really didn't matter.

The best he could do was just turn a blind eye on her. After all there were tons of women he could go after if he wanted to, tons… just not this one.

"Well I better go and get a shower to clean up, I think I even have blood in my hair." Eve said, her tone making it very hard for John to read.

"Yeah, I'm going to be around. If you need me just shout… I'm… I'll just be around." Cringing at the way he was stumbling in his words, John got to his feet and walked out.

At first he just walked aimlessly, his feet moving without a definite course and his mind drifting to places they shouldn't go. Back and forth he thought about Zack and then Eve, then back to Zack, then it moved to Kane and to finish up the cycle he went back to thinking about Eve.

It was messed up… he was messed up.

Keeping that line of thought and getting far from his usually cheerful persona, John found himself walking into catering, place where he sat down in a vacant table.

In there he didn't look at anyone sitting around nor did he say a word to them, he just sat there with his head in his hands and his lips pursed.

"John, John!"

Looking up and seeing Kelly Kelly running his way, John frowned and it wasn't until the young woman was by his side and rambling about Kane walking into the Divas locker room to stalk Eve that he finally comprehended.

It took him about three seconds to get up to his feet, knock his chair down and run out of catering and straight towards Eve.

He didn't know how he got there, but the next thing he knew was that he was in the ladies locker room walking towards Eve, who was wrapped in a towel and sitting in a big sofa, hugging her knees to her chest and hiding her face from his eyes.

She looked distressed, upset and more than a big shaky and he felt mad with himself. He shouldn't have let her out if his sight… and yet he did, for the second time that night.

"Fuck." He cussed out loud while hitting the door with his closed fist, and just with the force of that punch the door slammed shut.

Eve jumped a little at the noise and cussing again for scaring her, he clenched his jaw and walked next to her. Once by her side he sat down in the sofa and pulled her towards him.

"I'm sorry… I should have been here in case this happened." He said and as soon as his words were out he was surprised when Eve wrapped an arm around him and buried her face into the crook of his neck.

Swallowing hard down, Cena circled her waist and looked around. There was to trace of Kane or of any other Diva, apparently they all flew out and left Eve there. "Did he hurt you?"

Shaking her head and taking a deep breath, Eve pulled away and looked at him deep in the eye. She looked physically fine, her nose was as good as new and the only sign of her mental distress was the liquid warmness of her eyes. "I'm tired of this, John." She said in a shaky voice.

"I know, and I promise it will stop soon." He replied, his hand automatically resting on her check as his eyes drank on her appearance.

Had she always looked so beautiful? Because even with her eyes menacing to flow her face with tears and her lips slightly shaking, she looked beautiful. He could easily see why Zack was so fond of her…

"No it won't, he will keep doing this unless you-"

"Shhh, I promise you that I'm going to make him stop doing this to you."

At his words, Eve closed her eyes and shook her head and John took the opportunity to take a good look at her.

As things looked, Kane has caught her before she got into the shower, he knew because even though her feet were bare, he could see the black straps of her bra resting on her shoulders and because below the towel she had wrapped around her body he could see the orange shorts she wore to the ring earlier on.

There was that and there was also the fact that she was still wearing make-up and her hair was the same way he has seen it back into that other room, perfectly straightened and falling softly down her back .

Looking back to her face, he shook his head. "I promise you that tonight will be the last time he gets close to you."

Opening her eyes, the Colorado native licked her lips and before John could register it in his brain, she was kissing him.

Sure, the kiss consisted on Eve pressing her lips gently against his, but where he was from, that was definitely a kiss.

Breathing in and closing his eyes, John moved one hand to the back of her head and the other one to her lower back. That way he took control of the situation, holding her to him as his lips added a bit more pressure to the kiss before he parted with his tongue a way into her mouth.

The access was granted immediately and taking advantage of her willingness, he swept her tongue with his.

Kissing her was just as he remembered, she was sweetly warm and her lips were soft and pliant. It was so easy to get lost in sensation and feeling like he has lived that moment before, he refused to let go.

Kissing long and deep as if they had all the time in the world, they explored each other, using lips and tongues as their weapons of choice and when things started to get heated up, adding hands as well.

John used his to take her towel off and then to run them freely down and up her spine. Eve used hers to touch him as well, her fingers sneaking underneath his shirt to expertly explore his flesh from his massive chest to the muscles in his stomach.

Now, if he would be asked later on, John would say that he didn't know how things progressed so quickly, from being angry and worried about her he was now feeling hot and bothered.

Then as if things were not already clouding his judgment, Eve moved closer to him, straddling his lap and wrapping her arm around his neck to keep him glued to her lips. Not that he wanted to pull away; quite the contrary, with his new closeness all his coherent thinking went straight to hell.

To John kissing and touching this woman felt like heaven and when Eve arched her back to him, he was unable to stop a soft groan to escape out of his throat.

That little movement right there made him act on impulse and holding her tight, he turned around so he would he laying on top of her while her legs wrapped around his hips.

"Jesus, Eve-" He hissed against her lips, his hips darting forward so his hardness could grind against that special place between her legs.

Eve did her part by thrusting her hips against him, her lips moving down his jaw until she started to kiss a path straight to his shoulders.

Already deep into the moment, John slid his own lips down until he started kissing her collarbone, his hand sliding up her ribcage until he found the promising valley of her chest.

At the touch she sucked in a breath, feeling as John cupped and weighted her breast through the fabric of her bra.

He wanted to rip it open and touch her as it was meant to be; but then, as soon as it all started, John's mind pulled a mean trick on him and he imagined Zack walking into them, his face a pure mask of shock as he looked at them.

That's all it took John to pull away from Eve and sit down over the sofa.

"Eve… wait. This is-" Chuckling and running his hand through his short hair, Cena shook his head and closed his eyes. "We can't do this."

For a while all there was in the room was silence, and when he finally opened his eyes he saw Eve there, looking at him through big stormy eyes.

"I can't do this to Zack." He said, chewing on his lips while debating in his mind whether he was doing the right thing or not.

Sure, if he thought about it he would say that ending things with Eve was the best action to take… but if it was really like that, then why did he feel like grabbing her face and kissing her until there was no breath left in his lungs?

Nodding and blinking a couple of times, Eve dragged the towel back to her chest and without uttering a word, she got up to her feet and walked to what John assumed was the showers.

"Jesus Christ, did I just turn down one of the finest woman I've ever known?" He asked out loud in a shaky breath, still feeling the pressure of his erection wanting to break free from his pants.

Shaking his head, he looked at the door Eve disappeared into. If he would only walk there… hell, he wanted to walk there and to her.

Gulping down and trying to remember why he and Eve couldn't keep making out like two sex-crazed teens in high school, John slowly got to his feet and made it to the door.

If anything, he should talk to her and tell her that even though he has been trying to battle with the feeling, he liked her… actually he liked her a lot; but due the circumstances he just couldn't give in into her and forget about the consequences.

She knew that, he could see in her eyes that she was having a big battle of her own.

"Eve." He called out, resting his back against the door. It was almost like deja-vu, only that as he rested there waiting for her response he saw another door, the one that really lead to the showers.

Frowning and turning around, the Champ opened the door and what he found was a corridor. Stepping out, he started looking around, trying to find Eve somewhere out there.

He didn't, the closest thing he saw was another Diva, Tamina. "Hey, have you seen Eve?"

Pursing her lips, the woman sighed. "Yeah, poor thing. She was still shaken up after what Kane said to her. She was here a second ago, I offered her a ride back to the hotel but she didn't even stopped to listen. She just put on a shirt and left."

Clenching his jaw, John groaned. "Where did she go?"

Instead of granting him a vocal response, Tamina pointed to a door and mumbling a thanks she probably didn't hear, he walked there.

But when he opened that door what he saw was a deserted parking lot, and no sign of Eve.


	7. Chapter 7

Alright so I just had to write this LONG chapter after watching last Monday Night Raw… and I also have to admit that I had a fan girl moment when Eve jumped into John's arms and kissed him. I liked the segment and it played perfectly into this little story.

Now, I've never been good describing something I saw on TV so I tried to be quick about those parts, so sorry if it lacked or if I forgot something. Anyway, enough rambling and on to the update:

**XxXxXxXxX**

If there was one adjective John Cena would avoid like the pest if asked to describe himself with one word, it was hypocritical; he always thought he was a transparent open book that would never, under any circumstances get caught lying even if it was by omission.

But earlier that night he wavered and before he could think straight he was smiling through his teeth as Zack told him that Eve was the love of his life and that he was going to confess his feelings to her that same night; it was then that he couldn't help but to feel like that was the exact word to define him.

Smiling was the last thing he wanted to do in that moment and he actually felt like cringing, but if he had to be completely honest, he didn't have it in him to come clean with the man and tell him about the times he had ended up kissing Eve behind his back.

If that made him a fake then so be it. He would rather be one of those than break his friend's heart a day before Valentine's Day.

So yeah, maybe he was the worse hypocritical of them all; professing hustle, loyalty and respect to the four winds and then acting as anything but that. But what else could he do? Even when he knew he was smiling the fakest smile in the history of smiles and that Zack would probably see right through him and expose him as the worst friend ever, the kind of friend that was slowly but securely fancying his 'girl', he couldn't do anything about it.

Maybe if Eve would just tell him flat out that she wasn't interested in him… Zack even told him himself that he saw very little possibilities of the pretty Diva dating him so the blow may not be so hard; then with time his friend could take interest in another woman and forget about her. Maybe then… just maybe, he could tell him the truth; but for now, his lips were sealed.

Now, if Zack noticed John acting phony, he didn't say a word about it and the Massachusetts native took the opportunity that the young man's obliviousness provided and told him something about finding Eve for him and bringing her to his locker room; he also kindly reprimanded him for making it to the arena knowing full well that Kane was probably somewhere around and ready to attack once again.

Once the little peep talk was done he fled the room and started to walk directly towards the locker room he knew the woman who has clouded his mind was in.

Now Eve… he hadn't seen the Colorado native in about a week and quite honestly their last encounter left much to be desired, especially when Eve practically ran out on him not to be seen again.

Not that he completely blamed her, what happened between them that past night had been messed up and it shouldn't have happened, but at the same time he resented that she walked away without saying a word because for the next following days, he has been preoccupied about her whereabouts.

Luckily, he discretely found out that she was fine and his worries faded away… but then the worries turned into thoughts and wonders and he basically had her on his mind during the whole week.

Now it was this, Zack was there, apparently madly in love with the woman and he had to find her and bring her to him.

Yeah, the joys of being the one and only John Cena, yay…

Taking in a deep breath, John halted on his tracks and knocked on the Diva's locker room door, and as he waited for a response he couldn't help but to feel torn. He didn't want to face Eve to discuss Zack with her, but he also needed to clarify a few things with her.

The first step for him to move on and focus on his upcoming match at WrestleMania was talk to the woman, forget all about her and put his mind at ease.

He wanted to take that step; not only for him, but for Zack and Eve as well.

At the second knock, the blonde head of Kelly Kelly peeked out and upon seeing him she smiled and told him that she was going to call Eve for him. John smiled, folded his arms to his chest and remained there until Eve finally walked out.

"Hey." He said as he saw her push the inside of her cheek with her tongue while looking up to him.

Now like he said before, that was the first time he saw her since their last encounter and much to his shame, the first thought to invade his mind was that she was looking ridiculously good.

Her hair was falling in soft silky waves down her back, her make-up accentuated her delicate features perfectly, her emerald green eyes were sparkling and of course, he particularly liked the way the blue top she was wearing left her shoulders exposed and to finish up, the way her black pants hugged her slim frame like a second skin.

Overall, she looked perfect… he could even smell her perfume swirling in the air, sweet and inviting.

Not that he dwelled much on all that, because as soon as he realized the direction where his thoughts were going, he shook his head and cleared his throat.

"Glad to see you are okay; I've been looking for you since last Monday. You just disappeared." He said, his voice sounding more cheerful than he was actually feeling.

Closing the door and resting her back against it, Eve shrugged. "I didn't see the point in staying." She said, this time addressing him with a tone that lacked its usual edginess.

Nodding, John looked down to her boots and then cleared his throat again. "I was worried," And he has been, he remembered that for a whole day he has played with the idea that Kane could have got her to hurt her and if it wasn't because he started to discreetly ask around about her, he wouldn't have known about her until that night.

What he still didn't know, was where she went to on bare foot, distressed and half dressed.

"I'm fine." She said calmly and John looked up into her eyes.

"I can see that, and I'm glad." Taking off his cap and running a hand through his hair, the older man blew out a breath and then bit hard on his lips. "Look, I wanted to talk to you about that night."

"It was nothing so we should just forget it. I mean I was upset, I wasn't thinking clearly and things just… it shouldn't have happened." Breathing in, Eve mimicked John's previous gesture of biting her lips and then she blinked slowly.

This time for a change, she didn't look mad with him, but she did look a bit uncomfortable.

"I know, I mean this whole thing is messed up. Now don't get me wrong, you are a very, very beautiful woman and any man would be happy to… you know, but things are…"

Closing her eyes for a second and then opening them again, Eve interrupted him before he could finish. "Yeah, why don't we just forget about the whole thing ok?"

Looking deep into her eyes, John dropped his arms from his chest and let them fall to his sides.

"Sure, fine… I mean it's better that way for everyone." He said, feeling like the conversation was far from over but sensing that she was trying to cut him off.

It was alright with him, the less they interacted from now on, the better. With that in mind, John nodded his head and sent her one last glance before turning around to leave.

Now, it wasn't until fifteen minutes passed by when he was in catering sitting and staring blankly at the monitor that he realized that he never told Eve that Zack was there and that he wanted to talk to her. But as things were, he wasn't going back to her to tell her that, at least not for the time being.

The following hour or so he spent it musing about his upcoming encounter with Kane and the words the monster said at the beginning of the show, the ones about him having no choice but to embrace the hate and someone riding in the back of an ambulance before the night was over.

To John it was all ridiculous, he wasn't going to embrace anything but his true self and if Kane and the rest of the world thought otherwise, then he was going to prove them all wrong.

It was in the middle of that thought that Josh Matthews found him and asked him for an interview, and because he was feeling a tad guilty for snapping at the guy in one occasion, he accepted with a smile.

They chatted for a while, John trying to force his mind away from the messy last couple of weeks and Josh talking amicably with him. Then when the cameras started rolling and the first question was asked, he heard it.

At first he didn't know what to make of it, but when his mind registered that a woman was screaming and asking for help, realization hit him like a blow to the stomach and before he knew it he was on the move; it was Eve, and he needed to get to her.

Running towards the voice as fast as his feet would take him, John made it to the indoors parking lot and he immediately saw Kane locking the back door of an ambulance.

He didn't necessarily know what was going on or what he was planning, but as soon as he was near, he hit the big man and threw him away. Then, guided by instinct he walked back to the ambulance and looked through the back window.

Eve was there, sitting as far away as she could from the door and looking more than a little scared. Watching her like that made him bite hard on his lips and he tried to open the door, the only problem was that the door wouldn't cede to him.

"Eve, eve, open the door, unlock the door. Unlock the door, I can't get in!" He chanted with a hint of desperation in his voice; but before Eve could move, Kane was back on his feet and fighting him off.

What happened next happened too fast, Kane smashed his head against the vehicle and he fell to the ground, feeling a little dizzy with the blow. But when he heard the sirens going off he forced himself back to his feet, just in time to see Eve opening the door and looking around.

Without thinking it twice, the former WWE Champion extended his arms, and open invitation for Eve to jump into his arms. She did, just second before Kane put the ambulance in march to leave the arena.

Once she was in his arms and with one hand to the back of his neck ant the other one resting on his back, the two of them stared silently at the ambulance, John breathing out and feeling relieved that Eve made it out safely and Eve trembling lightly.

It may sound ridiculous to some, but as he held her delicate frame as close as he could, the thought that he would do anything to keep her safe hit him full force.

It didn't matter that they could never be, but if Kane would have taken her away he would have run after the ambulance and fight his way to her…

As he thought about that, a broken sob escaped pass her lips and he tried to reassure her that there was no more danger.

"It's alright, it's alright, it's alright." He mumbled under his breath as she looked up to him, her breathing coming off a bit ragged. "Are you alright?"

At the question, she slid the one hand that has been on his back to his shoulder and nodded slightly before looking back to the ambulance driving away. Then, a second later she turned back to him, guided his head towards her and kissed him.

Now he couldn't lie and say that the kiss didn't took him by surprise, but as it happened every time his lips found themselves pressed against hers, he ended up kissing her back.

It was quick though; her tongue found his and at the contact, he swirled it around hers. But that it was quick didn't mean that he wasn't going to make the best out of it and he even circled her neck with one arm, feeling the way her hand moved down to his chest and bringing her closer into the lip-lock so she could feel how much he was into kissing her.

And then it was over.

Slowly pulling away and looking at him through her beautiful expressive eyes, Eve blinked and out of the corner of his eye John saw someone running in the back. It was then that he realized what happened.

They kissed in a very public place and thus they took the risk of being seen. Wasn't a camera man following him?

"What… what was that for?" He whispered a bit lost, not quite getting why she did such a thing in a place where anyone could see them and basically just an hour after telling him that they should forget about them.

But to that Eve had no answer, she was looking as lost as he was feeling and after running her hand through her hair, she tilted her face away from him her expression changed.

Upon seeing her face, John had a pretty good idea why she had such a sudden change and he slowly moved his head to the side. And much as he feared, Zack Ryder was there, in his wheelchair and with a bouquet of flowers in his hand.

They were the same flowers he was going to give Eve.

"What?" The young man started to say and John ran his hand down his burning face, feeling like he wanted to be anywhere but there.

"Man, I know how this looks." John began to say but Zack threw a box of chocolates towards him and groaned.

"Yeah, well it looks like you were sucking face with Eve here. I can't believe this, bro. You were supposed to be my broski and to have my back and this is what you do! Man, I even asked you if there was something going on between you two and you lied saying no!"

"Zack, let me explain this." Eve began to say, but instead of listening to her, he snarled his lips, turned around in his wheels and started to move away from them.

For a second both Eve and John just stood there; but then the Diva reacted first, sent John one apologetically look and started to walk after Zack.

"Zack, wait."

Watching them disappear into the arena, John ran his hand down his face once again and cussed. There was no easy way out of that one… and the worst thing was that he felt like he fell right into Kane's trap… and man, he fell hard.

Ah, but that wasn't all there was to that night and as things kept progressing, he found out that getting caught kissing Eve was only the beginning.

After that little encounter, he walked ashamed to the ring and apologized to Zack publicly. He also spoke his heart out about things that had been bothering, including the whole thing about him embracing the hate, the crowd turning on him and about how he would adapt and overcome any obstacle that could get on his way.

Then just as he was going to address the Rock issue, Zack walked out and confronted him about kissing Eve.

At first John felt bad for the guy and he didn't want to talk about him and Eve in a ring as he thought that was a private matter and that everyone involved deserved the benefit of not having thousands watching them wash their dirty clothes in front of the world, but Zack was not having anything of that and before John knew it, he slapped him and tried to get him to fight.

That bothered him and angered him to a certain extent, but calming a bit and knowing he has been the one in the wrong he tried to act it cool and didn't fell to that; he didn't want to fight Zack and when the younger man rolled out of the ring, he let him go.

And that's when everything started to happen. Kane appeared in the TitanTron to send him a message of hate and when he was about to respond, his number one enemy ran through the curtain and pushed Zack and his wheelchair off the stage.

The fall wasn't so bad to a good and healthy person, but in Zack's condition it was grave and for the second time that night, he found himself running towards someone who needed aid.

All that happened a few hours ago, and as he sat in the waiting room of that town's hospital, his mind was recalling everything that happened…

So deep in his thoughts he has been that he was startled when he heard his phone ringing, but breaking off his trance he picked it up and answered.

"Hello?"

"Admit it John, you have embraced the hate already." The words were spoken in a hiss, but John had no problem recognizing it.

"No, it would be a cold day in hell the moment you see me embrace anything that isn't myself and my believes."

"Your believes, John? And what exactly are those? Stealing the love of the life of your one and only friend?"

Clenching his jaw and getting up to his feet, John walked to a secluded corner and snarled his lips. "I didn't steal a damn thing and you know it."

"Yeah, I like that attitude as you don't always have to do the right thing you know. As for Eve, she's a gorgeous young lady isn't she? And like you said, you didn't steal her away. She was never Zack's to begin with; she doesn't like him… she likes you."

"Tell me where you are so I can beat the crap out of you." John said through clenched teeth, his hand clutching as his phone so hard that for a moment he was afraid that it would break.

"And I can also tell that you like her; I noticed the day I found you together… embracing her. Do you remember? Because I do. I've also seen the way you look at her so go ahead and have her John, forget about Zack and about what everyone expects from you and go ahead and take her to your room tonight. Touch her, kiss her and get lost in the sweet fragrance of her skin. Just treat yourself, John. I don't think she will put any resistance."

"You are sick mother fucker."

"Me?" Laughing, Kane continued. "I'm not the one who was caught kissing the woman his best friend loves, it was you. And what a kiss it was, it was crystal clear to anyone that had eyes that you wanted it."

"You know, I don't have to hear your bullshit. I'll see you next Sunday and we'll settle this like men."

Before John could hang up, Kane laughed again and then went on. "Yeah, until then go to Eve, she looks really upset right now… and you looked pissed."

And with that, the line went dead.

Looking around and expecting to find Kane lurking around, John pursed his lips. But as far as he could see, there was no big red psycho around.

He kept his eyes moving just in case, walking to Eve and sitting next to her.

"He woke up, but he doesn't want to see anybody." The young Diva said as her eyes looked up to find John's.

Clenching his jaw, John nodded. He wasn't expecting anything other than that from Zack so he couldn't say that he was surprised. "Is he going to be alright at least?"

Brushing a lose strand of hair behind her ear, Eve nodded and then she blew out a breath. "I never wanted to hurt him; I know everyone thinks otherwise but I really care about him and I didn't want this to happen."

"I know." John mumbled, searching for her hand and grabbing it in his. "I never wanted to hurt him like this either."

Feeling as if he was being watched and stalked, John looked behind his shoulder, but once again he saw no one.

"I only wanted us to be friends, nothing more."

Turning around and locking eyes with her, John squeezed her hand, his fingers intertwining with hers. Now more than ever, she was looking frail and vulnerable and for a reason he couldn't quite explain, he wanted to hug her to him one more time.

Oh but he didn't, he still had the impression that Kane was somewhere around watching him and he would never give him the satisfaction of proving him right.

"Let's get out of here, I'll take you back to the hotel."

Nodding, Eve grabbed her purse and stood up, following him hand in hand and disappearing with him into the night.

That night he didn't take her to his room as Kane wanted him, but as he lay down on his bed, she was the only thing he could think of.

As what to be expected, sleep didn't come easy for him, but when he finally succumbed into a deep slumber his mind played another trick on him, a trick where he saw clear images of flesh slapping against flesh in the most intimates of acts.

At first he couldn't recognize the faces of the two lovers in his dream, but he saw their bodies clearly. She was on her hands and knees, her hair falling carelessly over her back as he trusted into her sex from behind. There was nothing tender about it, the man was impaling her hard and steady and in a chorus of strangled moans that he thought to recognized, the woman was taking it all.

The dream went on and on and on and it wasn't until he woke up, hard as a rock and sweating, that he got a glimpse of their faces, it was Eve and him.

Sitting on the bed and wiping at his brows, John closed his eyes. For some reason he didn't understand he was naked and tangled on his sheets.

Groaning and feeling his engorged member throbbing insistently, John threw himself back against the mattress and in a mix of need and shame, he started to stroke himself as fast and hard as he could.

In a matter of nothing, his hips were arching off the bed, his erection was spilling his hot seed into his hand and stomach and out of his lips a named was called in the brims of his passion.

It shamed him later on, especially when he was drifting back to sleep and the sound of Kane laughing made him jump.

Looking around and realizing that he imagined it, John swallowed down hard… knowing that if he didn't put his act together, he was really going to fall hard…


	8. Chapter 8

Nani's rant: Okay so Raw was brutal last night, period. (At least for this little story, lol). What else can I say? I waited all week to see what would happen after the infamous kiss between John and Eve and well, what happened last night wasn't exactly what I was expecting. I knew there was a big possibility that Eve could turn heel and that John would keep being John, but that not so little exchange in the ring was… brutal. Anyway, I'll see what I can do with it.

Now, thanks for the reviews as always and sorry for my grammar mistakes. Even when I have improved a lot since I first started to write on this site, I still struggle a bit when it comes to writing in English (I'm a Spanish speaker), but I'll be more on the lookout when it comes to spelling. But feel free to point out when something slips, I could be I overlooking them and I don't want to keep making the same mistakes. Anyway, here comes a little nothing but I hope you enjoy ;)

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Tapping his lean-long fingers repeatedly against the hard plastic surface of his knee pads, John Cena blew out the breath he has been holding inside his mouth for the last several seconds or so and tilted his head a bit to the side.

He sat like that for a while, in the exact same manner he has been sitting since walking out of his private locker room earlier that night to claim that spot and just like he has been doing ever since, he kept staring at nothing in particular while his mind occupied itself with the strenuous task that thinking was turning out to be.

Now, his thoughts on that particular cold night varied from a few topics; from his brutal match with Kane at the Elimination Chamber Pay Per View, to his estranged friendship with Zack, to Eve and the way he couldn't get her out of his mind and finally to Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson and the little feud that has been brewing between them for the last year.

On all topics, he had a lot of thinking to do and that's why he was sitting there, in a secluded corner of the arena and waiting for the show to begin.

That night he had the opening segment for Raw and he had to think with care about what he wanted to say. Sure, the subject at hand and the most important of them all was addressing The Rock to let him know that now that his problems with Kane seemed to be over, his focus was on him now.

"John Cena, please don't tell me you are thinking of that chick?"

Recognizing the voice but wishing he would have been left alone for a while longer, John furrowed his brows and quirked his lips while turning his head towards the newcomer.

"And what are you doing here? I thought you were out for a while."

Shrugging at the question and taking the liberty of sitting down on the floor besides John, Randy smirked and licked his lips.

"I tried to see if I could get cleared to wrestle tonight but I didn't have much luck. You know how that it. But anyway, is the chick the one that has you looking as if your grandma died and someone just pissed on her grave?"

Snorting even though that was the last thing he wanted to do in that moment, John ran the palm of his hand over his clean shaven jaw and shook his head no. Now, it was not like denying that his thoughts were dwelling on Eve was a complete fallacy because even when she was in his mind, he hadn't been exactly thinking about her when Randy came to interrupt his solitude.

Not that he would admit that she was somewhere in his intricate thoughts anyway, and least of all to Randy.

No, definitely not to Randy; because if there was someone in the entire WWE who could look straight into other people and tear the truth bits by bits, it was Orton.

And he didn't want Orton to see his truth…

Blinking slowly before taking a deep breath, John stared up to the ceiling. "I don't know what chick you are talking about."

Now Randy… Cena wouldn't say that he was best friends with the younger man but he wouldn't say that they were enemies either. Sure, once they had been on each other's toes constantly, but since those times a lot of things have happened and since Randy improved his attitude for the better, the two of them have found interacting with each other more than it was politely necessary.

They talked about trivial things from time to time and John would always take the time to go and greet his wife and daughter whenever they were around. Overall, John could say that with time they started to get along, but not enough for them to discuss his private life so freely.

"Don't play dumb with me, Cena, you know exactly who I am talking about and it's that pretty Diva with whom the world saw you playing tongue hockey last week."

Clearing his throat and leering at Randy, John inhaled deeply. He was about to respond to those words, but before he could think of anything clever to say, Orton went on.

"I've know you for a while, John. In fact I think I probably know you better than anyone else in this company does and I can see from miles that you are into her. Now I'm not judging you for that, quite the contrary; I think that if you like her, then you should go and get her."

Turning his head completely to the side and staring deep into the Viper's bluish grey eyes, John snorted. He didn't want to admit out loud that Eve was invading his mind, his dreams and apparently messing with his untamed libido, but what Orton said caught his attention.

"Randy, even if I liked her like you claim to know I do, she's a close friend's girlfriend and I just-"

"No she's not. I saw her friend zoned him on national television last week, just after she kissed you. Now listen, I don't want to sound like an ass because Ryder seems like a good kid, but you can't refrain from doing what you want to do just because he got a crush on the wrong woman. Fuck, and I don't think you even saw him as a friend, he was more like your pet project and the only thing that was left for you was to start a let's get Ryder on TV petition."

Shaking his head and biting the inside of his cheek, John pursed his lips. "That's where you are wrong, Zack was my friend so things are not as easy as oh, I like her and she likes me so let's just screw everyone."

"No John, life is exactly like that. You have to look for yourself, not for others. I'll tell you what I think-"

Interrupting him, John snorted. "You sound just like him." He said, referring to Kane and the last phone conversation the two of them had, the one where the Big Red Monster told him that he didn't have to please everyone, just himself.

"Look, I don't expect you to understand it, but where I come from, everybody knows that it's a code among friends to never look and let alone kiss the woman your buddy is in love with. That right there is rule number one and I broke it."

Yeah, he has kissed her more than once, he has touched her in places Zack wouldn't even dream of touching her and yeah, right or wrong he wanted her.

It was pretty bad, especially when sometimes in his wicked dreams she was completely his to do as he pleased and he enjoyed every second of it. Just thinking about it when his mind wasn't fussy was enough to make him feel bad and he would immediately think about Zack and the betrayal he committed against the Internet Champion.

Ah, but to a certain point Randy was right. Eve and Zack were nothing more than friends… Zack even told him so and hadn't he also asked him to keep close to her?

Yeah, back when Zack was in the hospital, he said to John that he wanted Eve safe above anything else and he even hinted that if that meant losing her to him, then it would be so. Sure, he didn't use those exact words but the implications were there for him to comprehend.

Maybe if he and Eve took things slowly, Zack would one day understand that things just got out of hand and that as much as he tried to, he just couldn't fight the attraction he recently picked up for the green eyed beauty.

And he was a hundred percent sure that Eve was attracted to him as well because there was no way a woman could react the way she reacted to him if it wasn't because she was attracted to him.

"You are right, I don't get it. I come from a place where you have to put yourself in front and then the others. Look at it this way, Ryder won't give you shit at night when you are alone in your bed, or will he? But Eve on the other hand can give you everything. Have you talked to her afterwards?"

Shrugging and remembering the trip they made together to the hospital and then back to the hotel last week, John shook his head no. That fateful night has been the last time he talked or heard from the woman as she didn't show up to the live events that came after and no, she didn't even show up for the Elimination Chamber event.

Deep inside that has been kind of disappointing, but when he heard Kelly Kelly mentioning in catering that Eve was upset about all the talk about her in the locker room and that she wanted to clear her mind of it all, he understood and even felt bad and guilty about it all.

But that night she was there, he just knew it and maybe he would run into her so they could talk things clearly.

"Well I think you should. Anyway, I'm out of here. Sam insisted on coming with me as if I was a damn cripple and since there's nothing for me to do here, we'll take off."

With that said and before John could ask about Mrs. Orton, Randy got up to his feet and as quietly as he came, he left.

John remained behind, sitting on the floor and his mind swirling around Eve.

In the past few days, he has been itching to call her to hear her voice and to see her. He didn't know how to explain it but he felt like he needed to take a look at her pretty face and just drink on her image as if it was the sweetest nectar. Sure, at the same time he felt the need to call Zack and fix things with him but that was something that was beyond repair… but Eve…

Shaking his head and standing up, John pulled his cap further down his face and began walking around. It was almost time for Raw and he needed to prepare himself to get out there and talk his talk against the overrated Team Film it.

With that in mind and trying his best to clear his head off Eve for the time being, John smiled his patented dimple smile and kept going.

That was how he found her, while smiling and walking he spotted her and the Bella twins talking near his locker room; and that was also how he unwillingly listened to everything she had to say.

Her words were like a blow to the stomach and for a while he was too stunned to talk, he just kept walking slowly towards her as she talked about how she used Ryder to get to him and how everybody was talking about her now. In a few words, he heard straight from her mouth how she planned to use her body to further up her career and how he was the big fish she has wanted to catch from the very beginning.

For a while none of her words made sense, especially since he has been the one who kissed her first and she has been the one pushing him away. But then shock started to turn into disappointment and soon after into anger as he remembered those last times they ended up making out.

She has been the one kissing him and throwing herself at him… and if he would have taken the time to really think about it, he would have seen that everything that she did was to lure him into her charms.

So yeah, she used him; she used him and she used Ryder and she was bragging about it as if it was the biggest accomplishment in her life. The little slut! And to think that he almost fell into her trap.

Hell, if he hadn't heard that talk and she would have gone to him with the promise of her lovely body served in a silver plate just for him, he would have taken it all…

He would have!

Tensing his jaw until his teeth were grinding, John saw as Eve turned around and in some wicked kind of way, he took satisfaction in seeing her face reflect surprise at seeing him there, within hearing ratio.

But not wanting to dwell on that and wanting to move on before he would snap at her, he took off his cap, scratched his head and smiling what he thought was the most bitter smile ever, he put his cap back in place and left.

He had things to do, there was no time to waste his time on lying skanks.

Leaving Eve behind and dragging his morals with his feet, John walked down the ramp and got in the ring. He has always loved to hear a live crowd up close and personal and this time was not going to be the exception.

True, he was still a bit shaken up with what he heard Eve saying, but as he always said, the show must go on and he would be damned if he allowed her to ruin more than his spirit.

But before he could even say a word about The Rock as he had planned, Eve came walking down the ramp as well with a microphone in hand, saying that she could explain it all and how it was all taken out of context.

In John's mind, there was no way he could have taken her words out of context because he has been there to hear them loud and clear. But she kept insisting that she needed to explain herself and he decided to let her talk.

The only problem was that her words sounded like a bunch of bullshit and sensing something very similar to his demons crawling out of some of deepest and darkest place of his heart, interrupted her and got off on her.

He called her a skank, he cut her off when she tried to remind him how they used to be friends and he also got the crowd to chant hoeski to her. If felt good to get back at her in some way, but then he saw her crumble down in tears and he legitimately felt guilty for treating her that way.

She was right, right before the whole Zack thing they had been friends; not like best friends but he always thought she was one of the good ones to hang around. She was strong, determined and easy on the eyes. So how come they ended like that? How come he practically tore a new one on her and right in front of thousands?

Taking in a deep breath, he tried to help her get up to her feet, but the minute he laid his hands on her she tried to cling to his neck as if her life depended on it to kiss him.

That was when he had enough; Eve and her mind games were not going to work on him anymore so he called for anyone to take her off of him and left the ring while telling her that he was disease free and that he wanted to keep it that way.

Fuming, he disappeared backstage and got into his locker room. Once inside, he punched the wall as hard as he could and then cussed out loud when he hurt his knuckles. Not that it bothered him much, at this point pain was only secondary and just for the hell of it, he punched the wall again, harder and with the same hand.

"You are so fucking stupid, John." He hissed under his breath. God, but it was just that he couldn't believe that he has been so gullible for her. But how could he know? What Eve planned, she planned as only women of her kind could, cunningly.

How was he supposed to know in his usually good nature that behind that pretty face and that perfect body was a wicked ugly being hiding?

Oh but that was why he should have stuck to his principles, if he wouldn't have…

"John, let me talk to you… please." Listening to that voice pleading her case once again and feeling his anger rising to new levels of intensity, John turned around and saw Eve closing the door of his locker room and resting her back against it.

Her eyes were still watery from all her crying and her lips were trembling as she looked at him, but this time he wasn't going to fall into her lies and little acts of damsel in distress.

"Get the hell out of here before I get you dragged out." He said, his tone low but severe.

"No, not until you listen to what I have to say."

"I already listened to what you had to say so why don't you drop it already? Everyone saw you for who you truly are so there's no point of trying to save face now." John replied, walking a step closer to her and watching how she pressed her back even more to the door.

It was almost as if she was cowering from him.

"I didn't mean to say what you heard out there." She said, her voice cracking the slightest but her eyes refusing to leave his.

"Oh that's rich, Eve!" John yelped, throwing his hands up in the air and taking another step towards her. "Is that all you have to say? Because I suddenly got tired of hearing you lie over and over again."

"I'm not lying, John, just listen to me okay?"

Clenching his jaw and closing the distance that separated them, John took a strong hold of her jaw and made her face tilt up towards him. With the heels she was still wearing, there was not so much distance between their lips and it came into his mind that she was not trying to kiss him like she tried to do back in the ring.

It was all a matter of moving an inch and she would kiss him.

"Talk." He whispered, his eyes delving deep into hers.

Swallowing hard down and pursing her lips, Eve closed her eyes for a few seconds and then opened them once again. "I wasn't playing with you or with Zack. You were the one who kissed me first and if I would have wanted to further up my career by using you, I would have done so since that night at the hospital or even the day after. But I didn't…"

Snorting, John shook his head. What she was saying was even more bullshit. Yeah if she would have wanted to, she could have made him eat out of the palm of her hand a long time ago; but it could also be that she wanted to hook him up for good and to do so she decided to play a game with him, a game where she knew he would end up craving for more.

Or maybe she has been teaming with Kane all along. Yeah, that made even more sense…

"John, I care about Zack and I care about you."

"Oh don't give me that shit now! Everything you've said to me has been lies, and to think that I…"

Turning around and taking his cap off to throw it away in anger, John placed his hands on his hips and took a deep breath. "Just get out of here or I swear I won't respond."

Leaving the words in the air, John waited to hear the sound of the door being open and then closed, but nothing came. He still waited, but instead of listening to Eve leaving, what he felt was Eve's hand touching him on the shoulder.

That little touch made him act on a wild impulse and almost as if he was another being dictating his own movements, he turned around and in a quick maneuver that made Eve gasp in surprise, he grabbed her chin and forced her to back up against a wall.

He only stopped advancing forward when he heard her back and head hit the concrete wall and before his mind could convince him to calm down, he forced his mouth upon hers and kissed her as roughly and punishingly as he could.

In the back of his mind he was aware that he was muffling her weak protests, but since he was not acting with whatever his mind deemed to be right, he kept the kiss going.

All that he knew was that Eve wasn't pushing him away and why would she? Wasn't this what she really wanted all along?

The only thing that the damn slut ever wanted was to get into his pants for her own benefits and well, maybe he was going to give it to her.

It was the least he could take from her; after all for long weeks he has been battling with the dilemma that wanting her represented and he'll be damned if he wouldn't use the opportunity to get her off his system.

She wanted to use him? Fine, then he was going to turn the situation around and he was going to be the one using her… and her body.

With that in mind, John pushed his tongue deeper into her mouth and slid his hands to her hips, pulling the fabric of her dress up but just enough so the little piece was riding up to her waist. Once out of his way, his hands sneaked inside her underwear and he got a handful of her fleshy behind.

"Is this what you wanted, uh?" He mumbled against her lips, his tone low and raspy.

After that he attacked the skin of her neck, biting and sucking randomly until angry red marks started to adorn her flesh all over.

"Not like this." Eve said breathless, but just like before, she didn't even try to push him away.

In fact her hands were just resting against his stomach and her eyes were closed; her posture letting him know that she would let him do whatever he wanted to do.

That angered him because he has been really considering trying things with her, but at the same time the thought that she was willing to give herself so freely to him made his manhood start to stir into life.

"I think you are lying again; I think this is exactly how you wanted it." He said darkly, one of his hands moving up her ribcage until it got a nice grip at her breast.

To that Eve said nothing, she just turned her head to the side and allowed him to pull at her dress down so roughly that he even heard the fabric tearing. Not that he cared about the dress, once he liberated the succulent breast from both the dress and her bra, he lowered his head down and started worrying her flesh with his tongue and teeth.

As he feasted on her, Eve sighed deeply, one of her hands lifting up and coming to rest on top of his head.

Groaning because he wanted to keep swirling his tongue around the hard peaks of her nipples but without having her touching him, John straightened up and started to unbuckle his belt.

He did it while keeping his darkening blue eyes on her, watching her exposed breast and talking particular interest in the way her nipples were moistened by his tongue running over them and how she had a love bite on the left one.

He also noticed that by dragging her dress up to her waist, her panties were enticing visible to his eyes; but once he forced his eyes to go up her face, he also noticed how her cheeks were tinged with a bit of red, how her lips were swollen and inviting and how her eyes locked with his expectantly.

"Turn around." He said tossing his belt away, because as pretty as her face was, he didn't want to see it.

"John," She whimpered, but before she could go on he interrupted her.

"Turn around or get out." He said, surprised at the tone he used to say those words.

Blinking a few times and taking a deep breath, Eve did as he told her and turned around. She didn't seem happy about it, but it wasn't like he was forcing her. If she wanted out, the only thing she needed to do was walk to the door and leave.

But she didn't; so unbuttoning his cargo pants and then unzipping them, he freed his already hard and eager member and walked to her, taking hold of her hips and bringing her to him.

What he did next he did it hard and not tenderly at all; he pushed her underwear to the side and then he just positioned himself in a way that the crown of his erection was pressing into her core; then with a single push, he impaled his whole length into her tight entrance.

Eve gasped out loud at that, her forehead pressing hard against the wall in front of her and her inner walls tensing around John's erection. He has gone in while she was dry and he just imagined that it had to be kind of uncomfortable for her.

Ah, but how could he dwell on the thought of her discomfort when the whole thing felt so good to him. Sure, even if she deserved that and more he didn't want to hurt her, but at the same time he couldn't help the sensation of pure bliss that took over him as he finally got to feel how it was to be inside of her.

"Fuck." He grunted through clenched teeth, trying to get hold of himself.

But it was hard, Eve was tight and warm and having her from behind was just like that first dream he had of her.

It even felt kind of surreal.

Licking his lips, John eased his grip on the Diva's hips and slowly slid out of her, but then when he was almost out, he went right back in; watching with half closed eyes as his throbbing member disappeared in the sweet depths of Eve's sex.

This, if things would have been different, he could have this on regular basis and in a much tender environment, but no… Eve has mounted herself in one hell of an ego trip and went over herself. Now it was going to be a onetime thing that he would probably regret as soon as it was over; but for now, he was going to make the best out of it.

"So quiet now, uh? Don't feel like telling me more lies?" He asked in strangled breath, sliding out and then back in, out and in until he was buried all the way into her core.

"I never lied to you," Eve gasped, throwing her head back and resting in against his shoulder.

To that, John moved his hand between her legs and started to rub the sensitive bundle of nerves that defined her sex, his thumb tracing slow circles around it until he heard her moan softly.

"There, that was a lie on top of lie." With that said, he removed his hand from her velvety flesh and placed it back to her hips, grabbing her hard so she would stay on place.

Once secured, he increased his tempo and started to go and her hard and fast. He didn't want her to enjoy it, he just wanted to get his release and keep going with his life.

It was the only way to get her off his mind, the only one.

Growling and forcing Eve to bend forward, John bit hard on his lips and grabbed her by her long hair while pushing into her.

If things kept like that, he was going to come undone very soon. He could already feel it, the pressure in his lower stomach growing and his erection throbbing insistently to get his its release.

But before he could reach that sweet momentum, Eve pushed his hands off of her and turned around to face him.

"Fuck you." He said, but when she pressed herself back to him and kissed him, he kissed her back, lifted her leg off the floor and pushed his hardness back inside of her.

Once he was in her again, Eve clung to him; her arms wrapped around his neck, her body molded to his and her tongue seeking his until he was kissing her back with passion.

By then John's mind was completely compromised and placing his hands on her round behind, he lifted her up in his arms as she circled his waist with her long toned legs.

"Damn you, Eve…" He grunted. Why did she had to pull that one? Why did she had to play him like that?"

"I wanted you, I always did." Eve mumbled in his ear before going back to kissing him.

In a matter of a few more thrusts, John felt the peak of his passion reaching its momentous and that was it for him, he grabbed Eve hard not to drop her and before he could even slide out, he was spilling his hot essence right inside of her.

The Diva held to him during the whole act, John grunting and emptying into her until things started to dwindle down. Then he placed her back to the floor and wiping the transpiration off his forehead, he took a few steps back.

Now, his manhood was still dripping and half erect, but he still put it back into his boxers and started to zip and button his pants. It was uncomfortable, but in his mind there was no other way.

"Alright, you got what you wanted now get the fuck out." After saying the rudest words anyone could say to another human being after such an act, John cleared his throat and turned around as a way to evade looking into her eyes.

He wanted to do this quick, he still needed to address the WWE Universe about The Rock and because he didn't want to do it with smelling like her perfume, he wanted to take a quick shower now; and he wanted to do it without her in his locker room.

"What?" She asked, her voice barely above a whisper.

"I said that I want you to get out." Turning around to face her, John shrugged. "You know, walk out of the door and out of my life. I don't want to see your lying face anymore."

Shaking her head and pulling her dress back in place, Eve opened her mouth to speak. "You can't do this, John. This is not you… just listen to me before you start-"

"Me? Of course this is me. As far as I know you are the one with a double face and a double agenda. But like I said to you back in the ring, next week Dwayne is going to be here so you should use those nice assets you possess to get into his pants as well. We all know how he loves pie and since you seem so willing to give yours to anyone who wants it, I bet you two could get along just fine."

"No John, you can't talk to me like that!" She said, apparently very offended that he would keep insulting her after what just happened between them.

Luckily for him that he could see pass her little dramatic acts and that he was immune to her bullshit already.

"I can talk to you however the hell I want to; I got that free pass when you decided to play me for a fool." He snapped, opening the door and grabbing her by the arm to drag her out.

"Just listen to me John, you owe me at least that." She pleaded, her voice cracking again.

"I don't own you a damn thing you little slut, now get out. Oh, but just so you know, you better keep what happened here between us, because if you open your mouth I'll deny it and I think we all know who has more credibility between us."

With that said and unable to tear his eyes from the way she was looking at him in shock, John closed the door in her face and then punched it hard. He did it with the hand he banged up earlier on and that made him hiss in pain.

"Fuck this." He mumbled, turning around and bringing the hand to his lips.

For a while he remained like that, half expecting to hear Eve knocking on his door and demanding to be heard. But no noise came from the other side and turning back to the wooden barrier, he pressed his forehead against it and closed his eyes.

"Damn it, Eve… why did you have to do that?"

He still couldn't get it. But it was what it was and now it was time for him to move on and keep on with his life…


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N**: This is a short update compared to the other two so let's just say that this is a fill in chapter to keep the story going. Enjoy ;) BTW, screw WWE for ruining what could have been a pretty good angle, a power couple equal to no other… ok I may be exaggerating but you get what I mean, lol. So yeah, I'll admit it, part of me wants to see Eve retaliate and call out John for humiliating her in that ring and another big part of me wants John to turn into his dark side and join Eve in her new heel character *sighs* Anyway, apparently we won't have any of those so let me use my imagination a little here…

**XxXxXxXxXxX**

"Did you saw Eve? Man, I swear she's looking hotter than ever."

Arching an eyebrow and turning his head slowly to the side, the man known through the entire WWE Universe as John Cena narrowed his soft colored blue eyes and stared straight at the man who just spoke those words.

As he stared intently, his usually calmed features hardened considerably and he could feel his jaw clenching so hard that his teeth were grinding.

Not that the other man even noticed, because the words he just spoke were not meant for John's ears and going on without a care in the world, he just ran his hands down his bleached blonde hair and laughed heartedly.

"Yeah I saw her, and she's nothing but a slut."

At those words, the former Champ's eyes moved to the other man who was sitting with Dolph Ziggler in catering and this time his jaw was not the only part of his body clenching; both his hands closed hard into fists and he had to take a deep breath to keep himself from getting up to his feet and hit both men with the tray of food he has served himself a while ago.

Not that he should care, because as far as he was concerned, Eve Marie Torres was a torn page in the book of his life and whatever the hell she turned out to be, was not his damn problem…

Ah, but he has noticed; over the past week he has seen the dramatic change in her and unable to help it, more often than not he ended up wondering what has triggered such a change in her.

After all he has known the woman since she started in the company and no, the Eve that now walked through the corridors of every arena they would perform in with a haughty attitude and airs of superiority was not even the shadow of the always jovial Diva that liked to go out in the ring to dance and have fun.

Even her style of dressing has changed. Her dresses were tighter and more revealing and yeah, whether he wanted to admit it or not, there was a new quality about her that was very appealing to all of his senses…

But anyway, sometimes he wondered if Kane was the one to blame for that change, because ever since the Big Red monster started to mess with her and Zack, her good-nature started to disappear to be replaced by a constant state of paranoia and fear; but then he will remember the words she said about using the whole situation with Kane, Zack and himself as a platform to further up her career and with a curse escaping his lips, he would force his mind into stop thinking about her.

There was no point in searching for answers, not when whatever he may have thought about her was a lie, an illusion she created to hook him up and use him for her own benefit.

"Who cares, I mean have you _really_ seen that rack?"

"Dolph," Jack began to say as if he was talking to a five year old. "It's not that she became hotter, it's all a matter of perception. I mean think about it, why is it that every girl who's slutty tendencies are made public becomes hotter all of a sudden? She doesn't, but now everyone is aware of the fact that she has no problem playing dirty and men are suddenly appealed with the possibility of taking her to bed."

"No, no, no… Jack, I'm not appealed because I think she's a slut, quite the contrary; I mean it's not like she slept with that fool Zack, thank God, so I don't get why everyone is calling her a skank and all that shit. To me it's all a matter of attitude, before she was hot but insipid, now she carries herself as if she is the last Coke at the dessert and that IS hot."

Turning his head back around and staring at the wall in front of him, John pushed the inside of his cheek with the tip of his tongue and blinked his eyes slowly.

So that was it, this was exactly what Eve wanted, to make people talk about her. He should go and congratulate her… well, not really because he didn't want to talk to her ever again, but yeah… he had to admit that her plan worked to perfection.

Now it was Zack and Dolph, but the other day has been Kelly Kelly and Alicia Fox. The two Divas came to him after Raw went off air and taking his mind away from Dwayne and the little exchange they had in the ring, they decided to rant about Eve.

According to both women, Eve's ways of behaving as of late was horrible and for some reason, they wanted to vent with him. And why not, she has used John as she had used them and in their minds that made them bond.

Well, John wanted no part of that drama so he politely brushed them off and kept going; but now it was impossible to shut his ears off and block the words of the younger men sitting at a nearby table.

Clearing his throat, John got to his feet and walked straight to the trash can to throw the rest of his food out. While he did that, he heard Dolph snicker.

"Now that's another one who is a damn fool. You think I would have refused Eve like he did? Not that I'm surprised, I mean I highly doubt he knows what to do with a woman like her."

Moving his head from side to side, John turned around and walked straight to the table where Dolph was sitting. "Do you want to say that to my face?"

"Whoa, easy there boy scout, no one is talking about you here." Dolph said while raising both hands in the air.

To the public eye, that right there was an act of giving up a possible confrontation, but John could see the rueful smirk on the show off's face and for some reason that infuriated him.

"Next time, you better keep your thoughts to yourself or I will knock the teeth out of your mouth." With that said, the Massachusetts own turned around and walked out the door. But not before he heard Dolph yell at him a few words that drilled into his mind and that made him halt on his tracks for a second.

"Rise above the hate, John… rise above."

Shaking his head, John continued walking… he did it aimlessly, not really sure on where he was going; but when he saw her, he wondered if he made his way to her was a mere coincidence or if his subconscious guided him there.

Nah, it had to be just a coincidence because how would he know that she was going to be sitting in the make-up chair, applying some blush to her cheeks while no one else was around…

There was no way for him to know that.

Now, he has seen her quite a few times after their messed up encounter the previous week after Raw, but never in all those times had he caught her all alone. He would always see her arriving to the arena for their house shows or walking around the corridors as if she owned the place but nothing more; then it was last night on Raw, he was her through the monitor backstage while making her way to the ring.

Not that he saw the whole segment; as soon as he saw her walk down the ramp he left the room not to see her face mocking him from the small screen.

Now she was there, at reaching distance.

Clenching his jaw once again, he turned around to leave; but then he considered things and swirled on his feet so that he could make his way to her.

"What do you want, John?"

She asked flatly, putting the small brush down over the counter and turning around on her chair so she could face him.

For a moment, John was caught off guard and he bit hard on his tongue. He didn't know what he wanted; he didn't even know why he was there.

Arching a perfect eyebrow, Eve pouted her lips and blinked slowly. She was looking good as always, and before he could stop it his mind was invaded with the memory of what happened between them last time they met.

It wasn't one of his proudest moments, he had to admit that, but it was a moment that has replayed in his mind over and over again. From going out to the ring and calling her all the names his mind could come up with and then cornering her in the locker room to have his way with her as a desperate predator… no, definitely not one of his proudest moments.

"I don't want anything from you." He said, but he didn't turn around to leave, he just remained there, staring into her defiant green eyes.

"Sure, you always said that but let's face the facts; you are always the one looking for me and the one who started messing with me."

"You played me to do that; you planned for the whole thing, didn't you?" Yeah, she just had to… she knew how to push his buttons and she didn't even hesitated to do it.

Biting on her lips and arching an eyebrow, Eve shook his head. "No."

"Oh come on, let's cut the bullshit right here. I heard what you said and by your own voice. So be honest if it's only for once here."

Taking in a deep breath, Eve rolled her eyes. "Honest… you want me to be honest?" After saying that, the brunette laughed bitterly and shook her head. "How do you want me to be honest with you when you are not even honest with yourself. Yeah, the good almighty John Cena likes to go out there in public and call me a skank, a hoeski and whatever you can come up with; but why didn't you have the guts to go out there to say that you were the one kissing me first, or that you did it while your good friend was laying in a hospital bed in the same room, uh?"

"That has nothing to do with…" John began to say through clenched teeth, but Eve interrupted him and kept talking.

"That has everything to do with this, John. I never planned on ending this way, I mean for a time I really cared about Zack and I worried about him. But then you came in and messed up my mind and things started to change."

"Oh so now all this is my fault? You turned into a complete bitch because of me? Just… don't even continue because you are just making a fool out of yourself." He said while rolling his eyes.

"Yeah, go and sit in your high horse and judge me, I don't care; because I know that behind that façade of holiness you like to carry around there's a man who acts on impulses and who doesn't care about his precious friends like he likes to preach. Hustle, Loyalty and Respect. Those words just make me laugh, you are no better than me so just drop the act when I'm around."

Opening his mouth to reply, John tilted his head to the side and kept looking at her, but out of his mouth came nothing.

"Do you really want to know what opened my eyes? Do you remember the night when Kane was going to take me away and you came to me? Well that night I kissed you because I was relieved to see you, because I wanted to do it and because I knew you wanted it too; but then Zack came, the video was all over the internet and all of a sudden everybody was talking about me. Oh, but what they said wasn't very flattering. All of a sudden I was a slut and I was the bad guy for breaking the heart of a man who I just considered a friend. And what did they say about you? Nothing, you were just a guy doing what every guy would have done…"

Shaking her head and blinking a couple of times, Eve shrugged and breathed in.

"That's when it hit me. You were never going to publicly betray Zack for me, you were going to do what everybody expected you to do; you were going to apologize, act as if that kiss was nothing and then you were going to make things good and perfect again. And after that what? You would have forgotten all about it."

"That's not the way it was going to be. Damn it Eve, I…" Shaking his head in frustration and running his hand down his face, John snorted bitterly and looked straight into her eyes. "I was crazy for you, I couldn't stop thinking about you and I just… I would have done anything for you. But no, for all that you just dropped that huge bomb while I was walking by and everything went to hell."

"I did what I thought was best for me; I turned into what people were calling me already and come on, even though you say you would have done anything for me we both know that's not the truth. If you really cared you would have come clear that night in front of everybody. But you didn't, you just dropped me at the hotel and disappeared for a whole week. If you cared, you would have let me explain things to you instead of denigrating me the way you did in that ring."

"I did what I had to do." John said without a trace of emotion in his voice.

Nodding, Eve pushed the inside of her bottom lip with her tongue. "Perfect, then go and have a nice life and let me live mine as I please."

With that said, she turned back around and grabbed the brush again. John saw her reflection through the mirror, taking special notice of the way her eyes never lifted up and how she absent mindedly pressed the brush to her chin.

He didn't know what it was, but for some reason he had to fight the urge of going to her and say that they should start over. No Kane and no Zack… just the two of them.

But then Eve dropped the brush and grabbed a lipstick instead. This time her eyes did lift up and with the same petulant expression she has been sporting for the whole week, she started to apply color to her lips.

John watched her for a while, but after several seconds he just turned around and disappeared around a corner, complete unaware that Eve followed his progress with all the intensity of her emerald green eyes.


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N**: I'm sick, my daughter is sick and I swear I'm not in my right mind. Now this has no relevance to the story, but I told you anyway because if this chapter ends up making no sense, I'm going to blame it all on being sick. Anyway! I always use everything the WWE provides me so I can update this story week after week; but this time, I'm going to turn a blind eye on a little something that went on air this past Monday (John presenting and then kissing his wife at the end of the show.) Why? Well because this is story-line wise and here John has no wife and Eve doesn't have a boyfriend. As always, thanks for the amazing reviews and enjoy

**XxXxXxXxXxX**

John couldn't understand the power that Eve Marie Torres had over him. He just couldn't; it was as if the damn woman put a spell on him and he was destined to never in his life move on from the mess she created.

To a certain point it was ridiculous because really, how hard could it be to ban her from his mind and ignore her whenever he ran into her at the arena, the airport or even the hotel?

Or how hard could it be to go back to his regular self and forget that she has done what no men and no women had done before her, mess up his mind to a point where he was beginning to doubt himself and everything that he represented?

Ah, but it has been like that since the night he kissed her for the first time so it was no wonder that his mind still refused to ignore the essence of her.

Since the very beginning, he knew that laying his eyes on her was a mistake and he still did it; he did it while believing that she was dating his best friend, he did it while he knew he should walk away and he did it even after knowing that she has been playing with him.

So yeah, maybe it was more than ridiculous, it was pathetic; especially when the road to WrestleMania was fast approaching with what could be the biggest match of his career and all he could think about was her.

Her face was in his mind like a bad wound that wouldn't heal, her scent seemed to be permeated everywhere, even in the air he breathed and sometimes while he slept, he could swear that he could feel the phantom of her body hovering over him.

She was just making him lose his mind and he was getting tired of it.

Ah, but it wasn't that he hadn't tried to put his mind elsewhere because he had; but when destiny conspired against him and one of the first faces he would see as soon as he stepped into the arena was hers, then things could get a bit difficult.

That was what happened to him that night; he climbed out of his tour bus, threw his duffel bag over his shoulder, walked into the arena and bam, there she was… right before his eyes.

Not that he hadn't seen her after the little talk they had last Tuesday because he had, after all they worked in the same company and for the same brand and during the week they had a couple of shows to attend together.

But that night there was something different in the scenario, something or to express himself better, someone he didn't like.

Dolph Ziggler.

As soon as he saw them, Cena halted on his tracks and tilted his head to the side, his brows furrowing as he watched from afar as the duo interacted.

At first glance, it didn't look like anything out of the ordinary; Dolph was talking animatedly while Eve was resting her back against a wall and looking like she would rather be anywhere else but there. Not that Dolph noticed, he kept talking and talking while John kept watching and watching.

Now, he didn't like Ziggler, never had and never will and for some reason, he liked him even less with Eve. Maybe it was because the talk he overheard the younger man having back on Tuesday with his partner Jack Swagger, or maybe it was because he was standing way to close to her… whatever it was the fact remained, he didn't like what he was seeing.

Folding his arms to his chest, John blinked slowly, his mind running a thousand miles per second.

Maybe if he called Vicky Guerrero to inform her that her dog was on the loose…

Knowing her as he did, he knew the woman would definitely make a show out of it and Dolph would have to choice than to leave Eve alone.

Yeah, that could work.

But before he could even put his feet into motion to search for Vicky, he saw Eve smile a big smile that looked as genuine as a three dollar bill and without losing the gracefulness that characterized her; she touched Dolph on the shoulder and told him something.

Soon after that she was walking away and John couldn't help but to smile.

Sure, Dolph was smiling too and for all he knew Eve just told him that they would meet after the show in some place where they could be alone; but for now he was going to find pleasure in the fact that they were not standing together anymore.

Pursing his lips, John shook his head and before he knew it, his traitorous feet where carrying him towards her, following her through the backstage corridors of the arena until he thought they were in a spot where no one would interrupt them.

"I see you are making new friends." John said without a trace of amusement in his voice, watching as she halted on her tracks after listening to his voice. "Dolph Ziggler… well I have to admit this, you two are perfect for each other. Fake, pretentious and as rumor has it, extremely easy."

Swirling on her heels to look at him in the eye, Eve arched an eyebrow and licked her lips. She didn't look happy by his words, but she didn't seem too bothered either.

It was almost as if she was hit with a big wave of indifference when it came to him.

"Are you spying on me now, John?" She asked, the hypnotizing green eyes that had been invading his mind day in and day out looking straight into his defiantly.

Shrugging in fake indifference, John looked up to the ceiling as if he was thinking about it and then he returned his eyes to hers. "No, not really; I was just walking by when I saw you two flirting in the middle of the corridor." Sure, the flirting part was an exaggeration on his part but who cared?

"You did? Well next time I'll make sure to keep my _flirting_ behind closed doors. I wouldn't want to damage your precious eyes with my slutty ways again." With that said, Eve turned around and resumed her walking.

For a second, John had an internal debate on whether he should go after her or if he should just drop it once and for all and let her go; but after that long second passed by he reached for her and grabbed her arm, preventing her from going any further.

"He's just an arrogant ass that wants to get in your pants." He blurted out, not really sure why he was telling her that.

Snorting, Eve turned around and smiled deviously. "Well I bet that if that arrogant ass gets in my pants, he wouldn't treat me as bad as certain guy who I don't want to mention did a few weeks ago."

Pushing the inside of his cheek with the tip of his tongue, John looked down to his sneakers and shook his head. To her words he said nothing because he honestly didn't know what to say.

"Is that all you have to say? Because I have things to do and I can't stay here all night long." She said, pulling her arm away from his grip and taking a step back.

Looking up, John's eyes got a shade darker and he puffed out a breath. It wasn't in him, just the thought of Eve and Dolph made him want to punch someone in the face and he was not going to lie about it. "I see him near you and I'll break both his arms."

"Uhh, so intimidating." With that said, the brunette Diva sent him a wink and turned around to leave.

This time John didn't reach for her nor did he follow her; he just remained there, trying to understand what was happening to him.

Who cared if Eve and Ziggler sneaked around to fuck their brains out or whatever, for all he cared that was what they both deserved, being used like they liked to use other people. All he needed to focus was on Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson and the fact that he was somewhere in Boston and probably on his way to the arena.

"Just let her go, John." He said to himself, turning around to get ready for the night.

After that little encounter, John found his locker room, changed into his Rise Above The Hate t-shirt and his cargo pants and headed outside to clear his mind a little.

After several minutes of walking around aimlessly, he found a secluded corner and for the good part of an hour or so, he did some warming up exercises and tried to get into the mood for the show.

After all, that night The Rock was going to be there and anything could happen. They could get into a brawl or they would just get into a verbal fight where only the strong was going to survive; but whatever it was he wanted to be prepared.

By the time the show started, Eve was a step lower in his mind, The Rock was his number one thought and walking out with an upper hand that night the second.

But like he stated before, destiny was always on his tail, looking for ways to screw his mind when he least expected it and as he was watching the show through a small monitor in his locker room and waiting for The Rock to grace him via satellite with his lame insults, he saw her again, walking to Zack Ryder of all people and kissing him full on the mouth.

Unable to help it, John got to his feet and knocked his chair down, his hands automatically clenching into fists and his eyes refusing to leave the monitor.

What the hell was Eve doing? And since when was Zack cleared to go back to Raw? He didn't know the man was going to be there…

And he sure as hell didn't know that Eve was going to kiss him.

Mumbling a few obscenities under his breath and turning around so he could walk to the door, John's temper began to sour and before he could really think on what he was doing, he started to roam the corridors.

He had a pretty good idea of where she was, earlier that night when he followed her around she was making her way towards a vacant locker room she probably picked to be alone and that was the direction he walked into.

He made the walk without thinking, his mind clouded with a big veil of jealousy mixed with a bigger one of anger.

"What the hell do you think you are doing?" He snapped once he pushed the door open to find her there, bending down and looking into one of her suitcases.

Apparently, she was in the process of taking off her ring attire so when he found her, her boots where off and she was on bare feet, looking up at him with all the intensity of her eyes.

"Don't you know how to knock? You could have walked into so-" Before she could finish talking, John advanced towards her and grabbing her by the arm he forced her up to her feet. "What are you doing?"

"I could ask you the same thing." He hissed, lowering his face until he was an inch away from hers. "Is it that you have no shame? Why the fuck did you go and kiss him like that?"

Trying to push him away but finding that his hold was too strong this time, Eve shook her head no. "Get your hands off of me."

At her request, John tightened his grip on her until she gasped. "Wasn't it enough to break his heart once, now you want to do it again?"

Tilting her head up and clenching her jaw, Eve's eyes dug critically into his. But even though her eyes were hard on him, there was the phantom of a mocking smile gracing her luscious lips and John felt the sudden urge to shake the woman back into her senses.

It was that he just knew that Eve kissed Zack as part of her wicked games and the poor fool was going to fall flat back to her feet. Place where she was going to kick him hard in the face while he was down, he knew it.

"Who said I'm playing with him? Maybe I realized he was the man I really wanted all along and now I want to fix things with him."

"Bullshit! Don't pull that one on me, I know you and I can see right through you."

"You don't know me John so don't pretend that you do. And what is it to you what I do or who I drag down with me?"

"I don't want you near him, I'm warning you, Eve."

"You can't tell me what to do," She said with a look of disdain. "I do what I want to do and if I want to kiss Zack then I'm going to do it; and if I want to accept Dolph's invitation to go out with him tonight then I will too. Maybe I'll end up kissing him too or better yet, I'll let him corner me like you did and I'll let him get his way with me! I mean I'm a slut after all so that's what I like, right? To be treated as one."

"You can fuck the entire locker room for all I care, but you better leave Zack alone."

With her face lift up and the corner of her lips curving into a smile, Eve nodded. "Leave him alone, uh? And what if I don't want to? I mean I'll make his entire life be worth a damn just by letting him be with me. It would be like an act of charity, letting him touch me and kiss me."

Throwing her head back, Eve laughed. John watched her, thinking that never in his life has he fought so hard not to hit somebody.

It was wrong, but in all honesty that was exactly what he wanted to do, knock some sense into her skull.

"I'm not going to let you do that." He said and he was determined that he wasn't going to let her.

"Why not? Because the good almighty John Cena doesn't want the same friend he betrayed to suffer or because the thought of me with someone else makes you jealous?"

Smiling a bitter smile and getting a bit close to her, John looked down her body. "Don't flatter yourself, what I wanted to get from you, I already got it."

Pursing her lips and her pretty getting somber, Eve tried to use her free hand to slap him. But luckily for him, he saw that one coming and before the palm of her hand could connect with his face, he grabbed her wrist, swirled her around and immobilized her in his arms.

"No!" She gasped out loud, trying to fight him off but unable to. He was bigger and stronger and he was using that as his only advantages over her.

"You know what you need? You need to cool off that heat between your legs that is not letting you think straight and I just happen to know the way."

"Let me go!"

Turning a deaf ear to her words and yells, John dragged her out of the locker room and without caring if there was someone around to see him acting out of character; he forced Eve out to the parking lot.

Once there and after having to pick her up over his shoulder when she tried to sit on the floor as a way to prevent him from pushing her forward, John walked into his tour bus, glad that Maurice the chuffer wasn't there to see him drag in a screaming woman to the back of the bus.

"For the love of Jebus! Would you shut up already?" John said, putting Eve back on her feet and blocking her way out with his body.

"Get out of my way, John." She said through t clenched teeth, her tone severe and menacing.

"Not until I cool you off." With that said, he reached forward and twisted the knob of the shower, prompting a sudden spray of water to hit Eve unmercifully.

"What are you doing?" She squealed, her back arching forward and her body automatically jerking in his direction and away from the cold water. "Have you lost your mind?"

"The only one that lost her mind around here is you; now be a good girl and think on what you've done and maybe, just maybe I'll come back and let you out somewhere during the night."

With that said, he moved swiftly on his feet, walked out of the small bathroom and closing the door and putting a chair in front of it to prevent Eve from opening it, he placed both hands over his head and waited…

The wait wasn't long, he heard Eve trying to open the door and when the chair he put there prevented the handle to give in, she started pounding on the door.

"Open the door now, John. I'm not playing."

"Neither am I. Now I have a few things to do before the show ends so try to really cool of, something tells me that is going to take a long while."

"You can't do this," Eve said through the other side of the door and John snorted.

"Sure I can, I just did. Now I'm here and now I'm not."

"Open the door!"

Nah, he wasn't going to let her go so she could go out with Dolph or worse, kiss Zack into whatever her evil mind wanted to get him. Hell, maybe he wasn't going to let her go for days, with her recent change of attitude he doubted anyone would miss her much so her absence could go unnoticed.

But no, he would probably let her go as soon as the show was over but for now, she was going to stay there while he did his thing in the ring…


	11. Chapter 11

This little part was supposed to go with last chapter, but because I was feeling like crap and was dozing off as I wrote, I cut it off and posted just what I had. But today I'm feeling a hell of a lot better so I decided to finish it. I don't think it adds much to the story but at the same time I think it's an important part for John and Eve's little story to stay alive. Let me know what you think and thanks for reviewing so far ;)

XxXxXxX

Time seemed to move with the speed of a crawl when you were waiting.

That was the thought that reigned inside John Cena's mind as he sat at the edge of the bed, his shoulders slumped forward and his fingers interlacing together underneath his chin.

He has been sitting like that for the past ten minutes or so; but in the sepulchral silence that was taking over the small space that was destined to be his room in the tour bus, those ten minutes felt like ten hours.

Ah, but before those ten minutes where robbed out of his life, three hours had gone by since the last time he has been in that room, locking Eve in the bathroom and then walking away with no sense of regret whatsoever.

He hadn't mean to stay away for such a long time, but he had a very important business to attend and that was calling out The Rock and say to the Boston live crowd what he really thought about their favorite wrestler-turned movie star.

Doing that didn't take much, he only had to wait until the end of the show to walk down the ramp with a microphone in his hand and his determination in full, thing that he did and oh boy, did it really pay off.

In his mind and apparently in many others, he got the upper hand in that encounter and that seemed to be the general consensus because one, The Rock seemed pissed as hell and two, because he didn't refute the things John told him.

He just came out, told John that at his core he was afraid of his 6'5 and two hundred and something pounds and that he was going to kick his ass; that was it.

He didn't unleash the verbal assault John has been anticipating and he didn't Rock Bottomed him.

But that wasn't the sweetest part; the best came when the crowd turned on Rocky and sided with him. Such an event made him forget about Eve momentarily and with his mood soaring, he walked backstage.

Behind the curtain, a few of his fellow wrestlers came to him to share a word or two and what they said made him feel even more optimistic. People like Orton, Dibiase and even the unimaginable, CM Punk, told him that he did great at that when it came WrestleMania, they were all rooting for him.

A few of the younger ones like Hawkins, Barreta and Riley also agreed, and because they were in his native Massachusetts and all that, they even invited him to go out for a drink or two.

That was where he wasted most of his time, since the deal with Zack and Kane he has been alienating himself from everyone and going out with the boys even if it was for a little while sounded good.

Eve wasn't going anywhere, of that he made sure and he just went off with the guys.

Three beers later and after a lot of socializing, his mind started to drift off towards the brunette he left behind and something very close to guilt started to kick in.

He began to question himself about the things he was going because of her, realizing that was losing his cool in everything related to her.

And seriously, was it jealousy what he felt when he saw her with Ziggler and then with Zack? At first he didn't consider it jealousy, but now that he had time to analyze it, it probably was.

All he knew was the thought of her with someone else made his blood boil as it ran through his veins and he didn't like that.

No… and that feeling only got worse when he saw Zack walking around with a Bud Light in hand and a huge grin on his face while limping his way to a table.

He knew Zack, he considered the man to be his best friend before Eve came along and he was sure that the young man was feeling as happy as a dog with two tails just because Eve kissed him.

He could see his eyes shining with hope and that prompted John to clench his fists in anger, get up from his chair and walk out of the bar without even saying goodbye.

Now, the anger that began to rise within him was because seeing Zack like that made him realize that he wanted Eve for himself. Despite all she did and despite how much he would deny it, he wanted her.

It was something that he couldn't control, ever since the first time he kissed her he has been unable to kick her off his mind and he doubted he would be able to do it now.

SO yeah, he wanted her… he wanted her to stop the bitch act, he wanted her to stop messing him with and he definitely wanted her to come clear with him and tell him what was it that she wanted from him.

He wasn't such a bitter man and he knew he could find it in him to forgive the shit she has been pulling through, but only if she came clear with him once and for all. Sure, that would only mean that he would never fix his severed friendship with Zack, but he was in a point where he didn't care.

With that in mind he went back to his tour bus and took the chair off the door, sitting on his bed and watching the wooden barrier that was keeping Eve inside his bathroom.

The first five minutes he just sat there, thinking; but when no movement came from the other side he began to wait. He has called his chauffer back to the bus and there was no doubt that Eve felt the vehicle start moving, but even though she still made no attempt to open the door and walk out.

So he waited and waited, but then impatience started to eat a hole through him and he got up and walked to the door, his hand lifting up to grab the handle to twist it open.

Now, the first thing he saw as he opened the door was that Eve was sitting on the floor; her back was to the wall, her arms were wrapped around her legs and her face was resting over her knees.

She was still wearing her ring attire like he knew she would and for a moment he just stared at her. Sitting like that made her look vulnerable and frail and once again, he felt guilty for leaving her there for such a long time.

What if she got hungry? Or going to the extreme, what if the bus had somehow burned to ashes with her trapped in there?

So no, leaving her there hadn't been his best move and he knew it. Maybe he knew it since the very beginning, but jealousy was such an ugly malady and at the time he decided to lock her there, the only thing he could think of was that he needed her to stay away from Zack and Ziggler.

Clearing his throat and running his left hand down his face, John took a step in. "Hey,"

At his words, Eve lifted her head and with an agility he hadn't been expecting, she got to her feet and without wasting another second, she punched him hard on the chest.

John grunted, backing away and lifting his hands in defense. "Eve, wait…"

She didn't wait nor did she say anything; she just kept hitting him, her fists connecting to his chest, her legs trying to kick him all over and at one point, her hand even going as far as to slap his face.

Sure, he has taken worse abuses in the ring, but that didn't mean that her blows didn't sting or hurt somehow. "Calm down, hey! Calm down." He hissed, trying to evade her fury.

But she was going at him from all sides and thus she left him no choice than to grab her arms behind her back to force her still.

"Just listen," He said, shaking her to grab her attention.

"I hate you! How could you do this-" She began to say, but John didn't give her time to finish as he immediately pressed his mouth to hers and kissed her.

For a second Eve froze, her shoulders tensing and her breathing stopping; but then she got back to her senses and she moved her face away from his.

"What are you doing?" She mumbled through clenched teeth, her voice shaking because of the intensity of her animosity.

On his part, John rested his forehead against hers and closing his eyes, he swallowed hard. "I've tried and tried and I just can't get you out of my head."

The confession came out easier than what he thought and for a few seconds that felt like an eternity, he waited for a response from her part.

Such response didn't come, whatever she was thinking she was keeping it to herself so he pulled away an inch so he could see her face.

She was standing there with her eyes closed, shaking her head and her face moving farther and farther away from his.

"I don't know what you've done to me and I… I don't know what this is, I just know that as much as I try I can't let you go and I just…" Blowing out a breath, John stopped talking for a second and then continued. "If you tell me this is one sided, I swear I will leave you alone and I will never bother you again."

At his words, Eve opened her stormy eyes and looked straight into his blue orbs, her head still shaking as if she was trying to deny something.

"John," She said, but she mumbled his name looking away from him and blinking rapidly. "I want you to leave me alone."

John snorted, letting go of her arms and grabbing her face instead, forcing her eyes on him once again.

"Then say it looking at me in the eye. Go ahead, tell me that you don't get affected when I'm this close to you; tell me I'm imagining that you are trembling right now and tell me while being a hundred percent sure that if I kiss you right now, you won't melt in my arms while kissing me back."

"You don't get anything, don't you? You are too damn oblivious to…" She began to say, apparently angry with him. But before she could finish, John moved his face forward and kissed her again.

"You are drunk," She said, pulling away.

"No I'm not." And he wasn't, his body could hold more than three beers and he wasn't even feeling buzzed. His head was clear and he knew exactly what he wanted.

That was why he searched for her lips once more…

This time, the pretty Diva didn't try to pull away and taking that as his cue, John parted a way into her mouth with his tongue, deepening the kiss.

Her response was gradual, first she just let him kiss her and then little by little she started to respond; her hands moving forward to rest them against his chest; her tongue waking up and moving against his and her head tilting to the side so he could have better access.

John took all he could get, silently enjoying the sweetness of her mouth as his hands moved away from her face to roam down her back, trying to figure out how he could take her top off.

Now, that little task proved to be a bit tricky, but once he deciphered the mysteries of her ring attire, he pulled the top off and pressed harder against her.

Eve never protested the liberties he was taking with her and why would she? He had gone farther than that with her and just as it happened that first time, she allowed him to do as he pleased.

She didn't utter a word of protest when he stripped her topless and when he wrapped his strong arm around her waist to take her out of the bathroom and towards the bedroom, she just held tighter onto him and kissed him harder.

That was how it all started; once standing at one side of the bed, John put her down without ceasing the kiss. His hands also continued the exploration, touching her all over her soft skin, running his fingers through her hair and pulling her closer until he wasn't sure where his body ended and hers started.

Eve did her part too, pulling his shirt off and rising on her tip toes to have him closer. She even moved one of her hands down his pants and rubbed lazily the hardness trapped in there until John gasped and sucked in a breath.

That way, between broken moans and hollow breaths, the rest of their clothes were discarded and with a calm he lacked the first time he got to enjoy the wonders of her body, John lowered her to the bed and climbed on top of her.

What happened next was meant to be, John accommodated his weight between her legs and pulled away from the kiss.

"Do you really want this?" He asked in a gasp, his hips slowly moving so that the tip of his manhood was teasing her flesh, sliding between her folds and rubbing her nub.

Eve closed her eyes and nodded, but because he wanted her to say it, he moved in a way that he was slightly pressing against her tight entrance.

"Tell me,"

"You know I do-" She said, opening her eyes and fixing her darkening eyes on his. At those words, John took a moment to caress her cheek with the back of his hand. "But it's too late now, John… things are just…"

"Shhh, don't think about anything but what's here." With that said, John gave that final push that would make them one for the second time and in a matter of nothing, he was buried deep inside of her.

Gasping and biting hard on the inside of his cheek, John began his dance; taking his time and enjoying without haste the woman laying underneath him.

That way they kissed long and deep, he never stopped kissing her even when he mumbled a lot of nonsense in her arms and when she pulled apart to tell him between strangled moans that she didn't want him to stop, that she needed him to keep going, he felt his hardness throb insistently inside of her with a desire stronger than any other feeling he could have.

Soon after he saw her reach the edge of her passion, her eyes locked with his, her lips parted as she breathed hard and her face flushing a deep red.

He followed her close behind, spilling everything he had inside of her while clumsily claiming her lips once again in a searing kiss.

Once they were both satisfied and breathing hard against each other's mouths, John slid out and laying on his back, he pulled her to him, inhaling her scent as he closed his eyes…

"It's never too late… you'll see." He mumbled into her hair, liking the way her smaller frame felt pressed against his naked chest. But he never opened his eyes and she never responded.

Now, in his mind, he just shut his blue eyes for a moment, but when he opened them once again Eve wasn't there.

The warmness of her body was replaced by the coldness of loneliness and only the scent of her skin remained behind.

Blinking in confusion, John sat up, looking around the darkness and his ears picking no sound but that of the air conditioning humming.

Slowly, he got to his feet and put on his pants, not bothering to put on his boxers and using his time instead to look for her. The only problem was that she wasn't in his bathroom; she wasn't sitting by the kitchen or laying down in the small couch in front of the TV. She just wasn't there…

Sure, there were only two ways she could have left the bus and because he doubted she jumped out the emergency door, he walked to the driving cabin and cleared his throat.

His chauffer Maurice was there and sensing him near, he nodded to him and smiled.

"Did you just happen to see a woman getting out of here?"

The smile never disappeared from Maurice's face. "Yup, a beautiful one by the way. She seemed upset though. Did you guys have a fight? I mean why else would she want to get off in the middle of nowhere, right?"

Biting hard on his lips, John blinked his eyes two times. "Yeah… I passed out and I didn't notice her leave. Where was it that she got off?"

"Like six miles behind, I pulled at a gas station and left her there. It was late and dark so I called her a taxi and waited until it arrived before driving away. I mean I didn't think it was such a good idea to just leave a pretty girl like her in such a place. Especially since all she was wearing was that shirt you always wear around, you know? I paid for the taxi too."

John puffed out a breath and ran his hand through his short hair. "Yeah, thanks Maurice… I'll pay you back." With that said, he walked back to into bedroom and throwing himself on top of the bed, he closed his eyes.

"Eve… you are going to kill me here." He said out loud, his eyes opening and staring up at the ceiling.

Maybe that was her way of telling him that she really wanted him to leave her alone… but no, if she really wanted that, she wouldn't have given herself to him with such abandon like she did that night. And if she really wanted that, she wouldn't have sneaked on him in the middle of the night like she did.

What her acts told him, was that he had on her the same hold she had on him, that despite everything she was drawn to him in ways she couldn't even explain.

Well that or everything that happened in that room was part of her games…

Who knew? And the worst part was that he wasn't going to find out until she decided to tell him…


	12. Chapter 12

Let's thanks The Rock for this chapter! Because part of his concert (just a little part though) from last Monday night inspired me to write this. Also thanks to Zack and twitter for letting me know how the 'date' went… or didn't; anyway, here goes a little nothing ;) P.S. I'm just going to forget the part where Rocky mentioned John's wife for obvious reasons.

**XxXxXxX**

Raw was already halfway through when he saw her walking into catering. She walked in as if she owned the damn place, holding her head way up high, her hips swinging seductively as she moved along and her lips curving maliciously into a sly grin.

As he watched her through eyes of steel, John couldn't help but to feel his mood getting sour and he just knew that if he walked after her in that moment, then he was going to end up grabbing her by the shoulders to demand an explanation out of her in front of everybody.

That was the reason why he remained in place, because he didn't want to make a scene. But as he watched, his hands curled into fists, his jaw clenched so hard that it hurt and if anyone who knew him would walk into him right in that moment, they would know by the look on his face that he was seething.

So yeah, it went like this; his animosity barometer was as high as it has been that whole week and he was dealing with it so bad that he couldn't even stand himself.

Ah, but it didn't end there, his mood was so acrid that he was sure that his pores were emanating a heavy dark smoke that represented his black aura and anybody who stepped as close as three feet in his vicinity would take the risk of chocking with his fumes.

That was how bad he was having it… and all of it because of her.

True, deep inside he knew that if she could provoke such a reaction out him then the best he could do was move on with his life and forget about her.

What good was she doing to him anyway?

So far the strongest feelings she was tearing out of him were anger and lust and he didn't think he could survive more of the same.

But at the same time, it was as if his whole being refused to ban her out of his system and the thin hope that she would react and realize the mess she was making didn't want to die.

After all wasn't she vulnerable when she was in his arm? Wasn't she helpless when he kissed her?

Shaking his head at the way his thoughts were going, John ran his hand down his face and sighed out loud.

In all honesty he was tired of everything; he was tired of her and her wicked games and he needed to put an end to it once and for all because being involved with her was mentally exhausting and she was making him lose focus.

She wanted to be in a friend with benefits phase with Zack? Then screw her to hell and let her succumb into the worse she could become.

What was it to him? Nothing… she has been nothing in his life three months ago and she was going to be nothing now.

And if he didn't stand strong in this one, then he was going to fall hard.

"Look who we have here, John Cena."

Blinking slowly and forcing a smile upon his face, the Massachusetts' native turned around until he was face to face with the man who just spoke to him.

Sure, he hadn't been expecting the Great One to come to him in the middle of a corridor, but he recognized the voice just fine and knowing the moment to be one of a kind, he wasn't going to let it go.

After all in the few occasions this particular man would grace a building with his presence, he would keep himself to his exclusive locker room as the prima donna bitch that he was and that he ventured out to speak to him was a privilege…

Sure, a privilege he certainly provoked by the freestyle rap he dedicated to him at the beginning of the show but a privilege nonetheless.

"Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson, blessed are the eyes that see you." John said with a note of sarcasm in his voice. "But wait, where are your bodyguards? Or is it that you are lost?"

At his words, the wrestler turned actor smiled a wide grin and adjusted his sunglasses over his eyes. "Yeah, yeah, cute and funny Johny, cute and funny. Actually, The Rock was just walking by when he saw you struggling on your feet and he decided to give you a little peep talk, you know, man to boy."

"Oh really?" He asked, arching an eyebrow and looking at the other man with disdain.

With the grin wide on his face, The Rock licked his lips and nodded. "You see, The Rock has been observing you and he has seen the way you look at… what is she called? Oh yeah, Eve…"

Groaning and throwing his hands in the air, John tried to turn on his feet and leave the premises. He didn't need this, not now…

But before he could show his back to his number one nemesis, the older man grabbed him by the arm and forced him back around. "But that's not the only thing The Rock has seen; oh no! The Rock has seen so much more. Like the way you dragged her into your tour bus last week."

"You don't know what you are talking about." John said, his tone low but secure as he stood face to face with The Rock.

"The Rock always knows what he is talking about, John, always. But there is no need to worry, because The Rock is actually proud that after thirty-four years walking this earth, you finally decided to lose your virginity. You'll love it, pie is after all very addicting and it will probably turn you into a man once and for all."

"You know, I don't need…"

"Oh I get it, I get it!" The Brahma Bull interrupted him. "John Cena finally lost his virginity last week and that's why you are so bitter, you and your rusty mangina didn't perform as good as you thought you were going to and now your little slut is looking around for a real man that can satisfy her needs. Maybe The Rock will introduce himself to her and who knows, if I'm in a good mood I'll let you watch as she spreads her legs for me so you can learn how it is really done."

Snarling his lips and taking a step forward, John grabbed The Rock by his shirt and pushed him hard against the wall. Not that The Rock remained there, as soon as his back hit the concrete wall he pushed John away, threw his sunglasses away and got in John's face.

For several minutes the two of them remained like that, looking into each other's eyes but neither of them touching the other.

On John's part, he wanted to beat the man to a bloody pulp. But he refrained, smiling instead a smile that felt as genuine as the other man's humbleness and then taking a step back. "Good luck with your concert tonight, I can't wait to see you recurring to your old catchphrases and high school insults. It will be like a journey back in time."

With that said, John turned around and walked away.

The rest of the night he spent it watching the show through a small monitor in the back and when it was time for the Rock's concert to begin, he watched through clenched teeth.

As he was expecting, the man did nothing but pander to the crowd to get them on his side and rain a torrent of childhood insults his way. He mentioned his mom, he threw his lame yet recurrent references to his lady parts and he mentioned his ridiculous way of dressing; but that was it...

Well, maybe that was not it because he did mention something about Eve. But hopefully the crowd would just think that the kiss he was talking about was that old one everybody has seen and not an imaginary one he invented; because if he was certain about something, it was that apart from that infamous kiss, no one in the world has seen him kiss Eve. Not The Rock, and not anyone.

So yeah, the man had nothing else on him but his recycled insults and what really made John chuckle was that he performed with a lyric sheet right in front of him and after that with the lyrics of his song on the Jumbotron.

So, sure that even when the crowd was behind the Rock he had the upper hand once again, John gathered his things and walked out to the parking lot. His tour bus was parked out there and as soon as he climbed in he told Maurice that he wanted to leave.

At that, the old man nodded at him and turned the ignition on to drive away.

John didn't even mind him after that, he was in no mood to talk to anyone so he walked straight into the bedroom, his intentions putting his things there and then moving on to the bathroom to take a shower.

His plan for the night consisted on passing out on his bed to stop his mind from swirling around and the sooner he could reach that nirvana called sleep the better.

But as it always happened to him, his plans crumbled down before he could even put them to run and as he closed the door of his bedroom, his features hardened.

"What are you doing here?" He asked in a dark tone, his clear blue eyes taking notice that beneath the thin blanket covering her body, she was as naked as the day she was born.

Arching an eyebrow and her eyes moving to his, the woman lying on his bed smiled mischievously before taking a sip of the glass she had in her hand.

"Nothing, I just needed a place to change into something more comfortable and your chauffer was kind enough to let me in. I didn't know you were going to be here so soon."

"Couldn't you find another place?" John hissed, his eyes refusing to leave her. "Look, just get out, I'm in no mood for you tonight."

Taking another sip of the fiery red liquid she was drinking, Eve shrugged and then smiled. "You were so much nicer with me last time, John. Sure, being nice was the last thing you could do because after all you did locked me here for hours…"

"Yeah, well that was before you sneaked away in the middle of the night and before I saw you going around in search for friends with benefits."

"Hmmm, you saw that. Did that make you jealous?"

Feeling a new wave of anger rise up his spine, John strode to the bed and without thinking it twice he grabbed Eve by the arm and forced her out of the bed.

The motion made the Diva drop her glass over the mattress and as a result its contents stained the sheets a dark angry red.

He didn't mind that and as her body came to him, naked and exposed, he clenched his jaw hard and fixed his eyes into hers. "Just what kind of games are you playing now?"

Parting her lips and running the tip of her tongue across it, Eve slid her hands down his chest and towards his stomach.

While she did that, John watched her, his eyes unable to look away from the sweet valley of her chest and then lower to her flat stomach and the Promised Land he knew to be between her legs.

"I'm not playing any games, I just thought it would be nice to come and say hi."

Lifting his eyes back to her face, John swallowed down hard. Yeah, she was playing a game with him and apparently she knew how to win it.

Why else would she wait for him in his bed, her body naked and ready for him to claim?

"You said it; now get the fuck out before I dragged you to the door."

Not even shaken by his words, Eve smiled again and dragged her hands even lower, her fingers expertly unbuttoning his pants and then going a bit further by unzipping them.

John let her do it, his lips a thin angry line on his face as one of her hands sneaked inside his pants so she could take a hold of his already half erect manhood.

That was the exact same moment when John knew what he had to do and with his mind clear, he placed both his hands on her hips and pulled her close to him.

"What exactly do you want to do here?"

Eve arched an eyebrow, her hand still working on the most intimate part of his anatomy until he could feel himself throbbing with her ministrations.

He wanted her, even if he knew she was up to no good he wanted her and the way her hand was sliding from the base of his erection to the very tip of it to then go back and forth with the motion wasn't helping his resolution.

"I'm actually trying to get you in the mood, isn't it obvious?"

"I know what you are doing, what I want to know is what should I expect after. Are you going to sneak out when I'm not expecting it or will you stay here with me?"

"You know I can't stay." Eve purred in his ear, her hand squeezing him lightly.

"Then you better leave now." With that said, he grabbed her hand, pushed it away from him and turning around he guarded his erection back into his boxers.

It was uncomfortable and his body was begging to be attended like it was supposed to be, but it was what it was and there was nothing to do about it.

Blowing out a breath, Eve groaned. "So you don't want me?"

Snorting, John turned back to her and curled his hand to the back of her neck. That way he pulled her closer and when their lips were almost brushing together, he began to talk. "I want you more than anything right now, but I want the old you; not this devious woman you've become. All you do is play games with everybody and I don't work like that."

Eve nodded, and as if she was thinking things over she looked up to the ceiling. "This is the only Eve you'll ever get. The other one is gone so you either take what you can or you will have nothing."

"Gone? I know she is not gone because last week I saw her right here in this same bed, with no mask on and no acts."

"You only saw what you wanted to see, John, but the only Eve you will see from now on is this one. This is me."

Grabbing her a little harder, John shook her lightly out of frustration. "Why? Just tell my why you insist on being like this. This isn't you, you know that. The real Eve is a caring person who wouldn't have it in her to play with other people's feelings like this; The Eve I know liked to smile and she got along with everybody… and she was my friend."

Chuckling bitterly, Eve looked at him through dark eyes. "No I wasn't, you said it yourself and right in front of everybody. What I am to you is a hoeski and a skank, right? Well now you have to deal with it."

Pulling away from her, John nodded and closed his eyes. "So you want to punish me, is that it? You want to drive me crazy?"

"I don't want to punish you for anything John, I just want to move on from the Eve I was because I got tired of being overlooked. Where did getting along with everybody ever got me? Or what did I get from trying to please the crowd every single night?"

John shook his head and bit hard on his lips. He didn't get it, he just didn't get it... "And where do you think acting like this will ever get you? What is it that you really want?"

"I want everything John, everything I couldn't get while playing the good girl."

"And is it working? Because as far as I know you've got nothing. You lost your friends and you lost everybody's respect. You have nothing, Eve… nothing."

Smiling, Eve rose on her tip toes and kissed him full on the mouth. At the contact, John's mind told him that he needed to push her away, but as he struggled to obey that command, his hands grabbed the firm flesh of her naked behind and he pulled her to him.

She went willingly to him, her arms circling his neck and her back arching against him.

The feeling of her naked body in his arms was enough to cloud his mind and in a moment of weakness, he lifted her off the floor. In an instant, her toned legs automatically locked around him and as he pushed her against the wall, his tongue parted a way into her mouth so he could kiss her as hard as he could.

Eve moaned into his mouth and feeling his member stirring to life once again and sprouting out of the opening in his boxers, he pushed hard into her.

It happened way to easily… he didn't even planned it, his body was acting as if it had a mind of his own and his erection just impaled itself into her very core.

At the feeling of her tight inner walls closing around him, John squeezed her hard against him, his digits digging into her behind as his hips spread her legs even farther apart so he could have more room to move.

The whole thing was insane and definitely not the way he wanted to do things, so trying to get back on his senses he turned around and sliding out of her he threw her over the bed.

"Get dressed and get out."

At his words she blinked and sat up, her eyes huge as plates as she looked up to him. But then she just snorted and crawled to him. "Why so tense? Here, let me help you with that."

Without waiting a response, she grabbed his erection and in a move he wasn't expecting, she licked the length of him and hummed, her tongue deliciously moving up until she reached the crown and sucked it into her mouth.

"Jesus Eve just stop it," He hissed, feeling a bolt of electricity make him dart his hips forward and thus sending his manhood deeper into her mouth; but before he could get lost in sensation, he reached down to her and forced her to her knees. "I'm not playing here, I want you out."

"That's not what you want, John, so I don't know why you fight it." She breathed out, but even after saying that she rolled her eyes and climbing out of bed, she walked into the bathroom.

She didn't close the door though and from his spot he could see her getting dressed. She did it fairly fast and then, grabbing her purse she walked back to him and kissed the corner of his lips.

"When you make your mind about what you want, come and find me."

"Same goes to you, you'll know where to find me when you realize what is it that you really want."

Eve smiled, running her fingers through her hair and looking at him in the eye. "I already know what I want and I came to you looking for it, does that counts for anything?"

Shaking his head and zipping his pants back in place, John quirked his lips. "No; as tempting as it is, I want something more than fucking you through that bed; so if you ever want something more than that then I'll be happy to have you."

Tilting her head to the left, Eve blinked slowly. "You can have that any time, it's up to you." With that said, she turned around and walked out the door.

For the longest time, he remained standing there and it wasn't until he felt the bus stopping that he decided to move and walk out.

By the time he made it out of the bedroom Eve was getting off the bus and he watched her, sitting in the small kitchen table and following her progress through clear blue eyes.

"Let me tell you something, I've been married for thirty-three years and never, not even in our worse years, has my relationship with my wife been as messed up as you two."

"I can imagine." John said absent mindedly, watching as the woman who has stolen all his sanity and ran away with it walked into the mini market where they just pull over while talking on her phone. "I don't think I ever had a relationship this messed up in all my life either." Resting his chin over the palm of his left hand, John blew out a breath and continued talking. "You know what they said, what doesn't start well doesn't end well and we never had a good beginning."

"Well I don't know about that saying, but I do know that if I was you, I would be walking after her right now."

Lowering his eyes, John pushed the inside of his cheek with his tongue and then he got up to his feet. "Wait until a taxi or someone picks her up, once that it done we are back on the road. I don't want to lose any more time than what is necessary."

With that said, the former WWE champion walked back into his room and threw himself over his bed.

The sheets smelled of her perfume and groaning out loud, he got to his feet and stripped the mattress of anything that could smell like her, after all he lay back down and closed his eyes as hard as he could.

It was going to be a long night, of that he was sure and that too, he was going to blame on Eve.

**XxXxXxX**

Okay so this was more about John's struggle, his feud with The Rock and Eve getting more devious as each day passes. Let's hope it turned out okay *crosses fingers*


	13. Chapter 13

Okay so I'm not happy with this chapter but it's the only thing I could come up with. I knew that if I waited for inspiration to hit me, WM 28 would have come and go while I sat home, trying to think on what to write. Anyway, I wanted to wait until tonight in Raw house show in Puerto Rico to see if there was going to be any kind of John/Eve interaction I could see live, but my friend told me Eve was probably not coming so there went my plans. Meh… at least I'll see John live for the first time! BTW, the hotel they always stay in is behind a beach so I used that as my only inspiration.

**XxXxXxXxX**

Almost two weeks have gone by since the last time he saw Eve. Not that her absence was necessarily a bad thing, no… quite the contrary; as he found out that the less he would see her around, the easiest it was for him to start the long and arduous process of erasing her off his mind.

Almost two weeks, or to be more accurate, eleven days where the only thing he knew about her was that she was hanging out with Beth Phoenix and creating havoc all around with the sole purpose of sneaking their way into a match in that year WrestleMania.

Thing that they apparently achieved, at least according to the word going around in the locker room.

So yeah, he was faintly aware of what she was up to, but after their last encounter in his tour bus, he hadn't seen her face to face and as far as he knew, she didn't even show up at Raw this past Monday. He did however hear that she had a match with her new accomplish for Superstars and that she invaded the Extra set to challenge the host into a match.

That was all he knew about her… at least until that day.

Now, the encounter hadn't been what he has been expecting for; he didn't run into her at the arena, he didn't caught a glimpse of her at the airport and he didn't see her walking around the hotel as he saw a lot of his other fellow Superstars; no, he saw her running around and apparently doing some early work-out in a lonely beach in Puerto Rico.

Now, the fact that he saw her in another country wasn't as weird as it sounded; no at all… because as part of their WrestleMania tour, the entire Raw roster got into an early flight to San Juan, Puerto Rico to work a show before consequentially leaving back to the states that same night.

That's how he came to see her after such a long time…

At first he didn't think too much of seeing her there, after all the Hilton where they were all staying was a few miles back so that he saw her in that secluded spot of the beach wasn't a surprise.

Not in their line of work, after all the wrestlers along with the Divas worked-out whenever given the chance and it was no secret that a little cardio down the beach was a good change most of the superstars liked.

He was even doing some himself, after leaving his things in his room he went down the beach behind the hotel and ran a few miles before stopping to sit at the sand to enjoy the view.

It was a beautiful panorama; the ocean was calm and serene, the sun was hiding behind a few clouds that menaced to break at any given time to pour down some rain and the silence reining the place was golden for someone who had a lot of things on his mind…

Sure, it wasn't the sunny day he was expecting when he took off towards the Island, but in his current mood it settled perfectly with him and he was actually enjoying it and he just had to make a stop on his routine to admire the calmness…

And then he saw her pass by.

Not leaving his spot, John followed her progress with his clear blue eyes, taking notice on the way her hair was up in a bun. He also saw that she was wearing a big USC sweater that made her look smaller than what she really was and that her pace was steady even in the unsteady surface of the sand.

Like he said, he didn't thought to much on her though, but when he saw her stop by to catch her breath at a short distance from the place he was sitting, his attention got compromised.

For a while she just remained standing, her back to him and her hands securely resting on her hips while she apparently observed the ocean.

She seemed completely unaware that he was sitting nearby so walking closer to the shore, she sat down as well.

John snorted when he saw her sit down because really, what were the odds of Eve Torres being the only person besides him sitting in that beach?

Was this a prank made by destiny or was it another mean trick she was pulling on him to interrupt his concentration? After all she could have easily watched him walking off to the beach earlier on and maybe she followed him and now she was waiting on him to go to her.

Groaning, John got to his feet and stretched; but before he could make up his mind on what to do, his feet carried him towards her and it wasn't until she was a few steps behind her that he made his presence known by clearing his throat.

At the sound, the young brunette gasped startled and turning around, she looked at him through wide eyes. "Jesus John, don't scare me like that."

After saying that, she turned her back to him once again and hugging her knees to her chest, she blinked slowly.

"What, are you following me now?" She asked, not bothering to look at him once again.

"I could say the same thing," The tall man said as he sat down by her side, his eyes automatically settling on her face. "I mean I was sitting right over there when you conveniently passed by me and then decided to stop here."

Pushing the inside of her cheek with her tongue, Eve breathed in and then shrugged. "I didn't know you were there but don't worry, I'll leave right now."

With that said, Eve tried to get up to her feet only to be stopped by John grabbing her by the arm and preventing her from going away.

"I didn't say you have to leave." He said, his voice a soft whisper that the wind quickly carried away.

Not saying a word, Eve blinked slowly, her gaze lost in the immense ocean extending before the two of them as John drank on her image.

She wasn't wearing any make-up for a change, which wasn't a bad look if you asked him; in fact he would say that the natural look made her look beautiful in a different kind of way and yes, more approachable.

Looking at her like that made it hard to believe all the things the woman was capable of doing.

"What?" She asked, arching a perfect eyebrow and pursing her lips.

"What?" He repeated the question, not tearing his eyes away from her.

"What are you looking at?"

Lowering his eyes to her lips, John smiled. "Well if I'm not mistaken, I'm looking at Eve Marie Torres."

"Hmmm," She mumbled while absent mindedly reaching up to her hair to make her hair fall down in soft waves down her back.

Tilting his head to the right, John's smile got even wider and unable to help it, he reached up and swirled a finger around her hair. "You look like that girl in the Harry Potter movies, with your hair all over the place."

Rolling her eyes, Eve ran her hands through her hair and tried to tame it. "Well thank you John, that's very kind of you to say."

Shrugging, John looked away and sighed. For a full minute, the two of them kept complete silence, until John felt like he needed to talk to her and understand what was going on inside that pretty head of hers.

Two weeks apparently meant nothing and now that he had her so close, he was back in that place where he needed to make her reason.

"I heard you got a match at WrestleMania, but I also heard you got kind of nasty to do it, and along Beth Phoenix of all people… What happened there?"

Chewing on her lips, Eve shook her head. "We don't all have the privilege of automatically getting a main event spot in the card, John; some of us need to move around to make it happen and what better partner than the Divas Champion to get there?"

Nodding and recognizing the personal shot, John decided to leave the WrestleMania thing there and approach her differently; going straight to the point.

"Why do things have to be so complicated between us? I mean you know how I feel for you and I think it's safe to say that you feel something for me too. With that being the case, why are we so messed up?"

Moving her face towards him, Eve shrugged. "That's just the way things are; I don't think there is any other way for us to be."

"You think so? Well I don't; I actually think that the way you are acting around is just a charade to fool people. I mean look at you now, every time you are with me your walls are down and I get a glimpse of you, the real you. What I don't get is why you keep the charade up and why you tried to play it with me last time."

"I wasn't playing anything with you last time, I wanted to be with you so I went to you and you just brushed me off. End of story."

"Yeah, after kissing another man on national TV, you came to me for sex. What was I supposed to do?"

"You should have taken what you could get, John, just that." She said angrily, her eyes delving deep into his.

"I wanted more than that." He said, his voice full of determination and his eyes locked with hers as well. "I want more than that; I want the real you instead of this woman you pretend to be now."

"I'm not discussing this with you again, John; there's only one me, whether I'm just with you or in front of people this is what you get. If you are so thickheaded to accept it then that's your problem, not mine."

Hearing her words but shaking his head, John grabbed her chin and forced her face to his. "You are lying, there's so much more to you than this so stop trying to fool me." And then, without more preambles, he lowered his head and kissed her briefly on the lips.

With her eyes closed, Eve blew out a breath and pulled away. But before she could say anything, John started talking again.

"Last time we saw each other you said that you wanted it all; well… guess what? I want it all too so why don't we do this? Tonight before we leave back to the States, come to my room with a definite answer, whatever it is just come and say it to my face.

"Don't do this; you know I won't give you all so just take what I can offer you."

"And what is that, your body every once in a while?"

Nodding, Eve moved from her spot and climbed on top of him, straddling him while her lips searched for his. "You can have me every time you want."

Angling his face, John met her lips and kissed her back, his hands grabbing her face to him and his tongue parting its way into her mouth.

For a long while they kissed without thinking, breaths mingling together, hands roaming everywhere they could and bodies molding to one another.

To John that moment was crucial because he knew that there was no way he could remain away from her; not while she was around and definitely not when he knew that all he had to do was kiss her so she would react with total abandon with him.

And wasn't every time he wanted enough? That was almost as having her all for himself and that was all he ever wanted. Wasn't it?

Ah, but he just couldn't do it like that, not while she kept acting the way she was acting… no, he couldn't…

Grabbing her face with both hands, he pulled away and place one final kiss to her mouth.

"Eve…"

"I'm going to give you another option; here, come to my room tonight." With that said, she handed him a room card-key. "You don't have to give me any answer, you just have to come and leave the rest to me."

With that said, the woman got up to her feet and without looking back, she started to walk away.

John looked after her, the card key in his hand and his mind running a thousand miles per second. No… he couldn't give her what she wanted. That was only going to keep the vile cycle of their relationship floating in the air and he wasn't going to accept that.

What he needed was a definite answer and with her refusal of going into his room, she gave it to him. She wasn't going to change because of him and he wasn't going to change because of her…

There was nothing to do with Eve other than let her go and that's what he was going to do.

With that in mind, he placed the key over the sand and after waiting a couple of minutes, he got up as well and started to make it back to the hotel.


	14. Chapter 14

Two updates in less than 24 hours… it's too much, I know; but like I said before, I wasn't entirely happy with the last one and well, after going to the Raw house show in Puerto Rico and seeing both Eve and John live (Eve was awesome cutting a heel promo, and in Spanish! Haha) I felt like I needed to fix the thing that I didn't like. Anyway, let's just say that Eve's recent tweet about how her mind wouldn't turn off and her wakeup call was in 45 minutes put me to think. I just thought it was perfect for the story and trust me, if this would have been narrated in her POV, I would have written forever! But it's not, so I'll try to do what I can to let you all know about what's really on her mind. Once again, thanks for the amazing reviews and enjoy, I hope ;)

**XxXxXxXxX**

He thought that he wasn't going to make it, that his weak mind was going to betray his crumbling resolution and that he was going to end up knocking on Eve's door in the middle of the night so he could tell her that he was going to give her whatever it was that she wanted.

She wanted to be her fuck buddy? Deal, he could live with that, as long as he could have her in some way or another, it shouldn't really matter the nature of their relationship.

Who cared that her new way of behaving didn't go at all with the way he liked to live his life? Who cared? After all he was a hundred percent sure that with time he could turn her around so she could be the Eve he once knew.

Yeah… if there was someone who could bring back the Eve that liked to smile, the Eve that was down to earth and the Eve who's joyous nature was infectious, it was him. After all there was no denying that in some way or another, he had an effect on the pretty Diva and that whether she liked to admit it or not, she was as drawn to him as he was to her.

But all those thoughts would die the moment he got to his feet, walked to the door and grabbed the handle to head out; and instead of thinking on the ways he could change her, his mind would go back in time to the things she has done.

She played with him. Hell, she was playing with everyone around and if he wasn't careful, she was going to end up breaking his heart.

He knew it, the effect she had on him was unbelievable and he couldn't put his heart on a silver plate so she could devour it. No… it was already bad as it was so imagine the things she could end up making him feel if he gave her complete power over him.

She would destroy him… believable or not, if he would have ended up walking to her room, the end of John Cena was going to be a her…

So yeah, the struggle has been bad; it deprived him of the little sleep he could have gotten before leaving to the airport and now, several hours later, the combination of not sleeping and traveling in a weaken state of mind back to the States so he could work on yet another House Show was having a big toll on him.

He was mentally exhausted, his body needed some rest urgently and if he didn't catch a break, he was going to end up making a fiasco of an appearance on Raw.

Lowering his eyes to the empty glass resting on top of the bar, the blued eyed former champion took in a deep breath and after three long seconds, he so very slowly let it escape through his mouth. Yeah… he needed to rest and he needed it now.

He kind of wished Maurice was there, that way the only thing he had to do was get on his tour bus and trust the man to get him safely to the next arena.

"Hey Bro."

The sound of those words made John straighten his back and his eyes automatically darted forward, watching with something close to amazement as none other than Zack Ryder sat in the stool besides him and smiled.

"Hey," He said tentatively, wondering the reason why the man was talking to him.

They hadn't talked since the night he was caught kissing Eve on national television and well, the reason was obvious.

"Did you hear I'm having a match at WrestleMania? It's not a one on one match but it's better than sitting at home watching through a TV, right?"

"Yeah, yeah… I think it's great. Are you cleared to get back on the ring?" He asked, feeling very awkward and out of place.

"You know it; and I'm going to fist pump everyone in Team Johny and right on the face."

"Good… good."

"I talked to Eve too."

To that John said nothing; he just watched the younger man sip on his beer as a weird feeling settled right in the pit of his stomach.

"Yeah. She kissed me and said we were going on a date, but she played me bro, again. She never showed up."

Remembering that night and very aware that while Zack was waiting anxiously for his date with her, Eve has been naked and in his bed, John clenched his teeth and cleared his throat.

"Yeah, I saw. Sorry about that." He hissed, wishing he had some Whiskey left in his glass so he could drink it in that moment.

"It's okay, she's a hoeski anyway. Look, I just wanted to come by and tell you that I don't blame you for kissing her that night; I mean I did… for a long time, but when she kissed me that night I understood that there was no way any man could resist those sweet lips so yeah, I don't blame you."

Once again, John said nothing; he just looked around, scanning the place and trying to plan a way out. True, the man he had in front of him has been a very good friend once, but a lot of things had changed since their fallout and he didn't think he could act as if everything was alright all of a sudden.

"I don't know how you turned her down back in the ring, I mean if she came through that door right now and kissed me again, I would do whatever she wants me to do."

"No, I don't think you would." John said at last, thinking that if something like that happened right in front of him, he would have no choice than to punch the man right in the face.

He wouldn't necessarily enjoy it, but he wasn't in a phase where he could watch Eve kiss another man without being affected by that. Especially if he knew she was doing it to get back to him.

"Yes I would! I mean have you seen her lately, she's so hot it's sick! Everything about her is perfect; her eyes, her hair, her… everything…" After saying that, the Long Island resident blew out a breath and looked away. "Anyway, I have to go and you know, do stuff…" After saying that, Zack got to his feet and without looking back, he left.

Watching Zack go, John pouted his lips and blinking his eyes slowly, he turned around and asked the bartender to bill the two glasses of Jack Daniels he just got to his room.

After that he decided that he needed some fresh air and instead of heading towards his room, he went straight into the parking lot.

To his surprise, there was a small crowd of what appeared to be fans out there and by the look of things, they weren't too happy.

Ah, and not only that, in the middle of that crowd were two persons he knew very well. Mike The Miz and Eve.

Tilting his head to the side, John observed with morbid curiosity that Mike was in a back and forth argument with two of the fans and that Eve was just standing there, hair straightened out and falling perfectly down her back, hands settled firmly on her hips and her full lips twisted in a mocking grin as she looked at Mike getting into a yelling match with the crowd.

Now, he didn't know why those two were together, he didn't know why they were in the middle of that crowd and he definitely didn't know why security hadn't gone out there to break things out. The only thing that he knew was that somebody needed to go out there and put some order before things could get out of hand.

Sure, he couldn't say that he liked Mike because their history was well documented, but out of experience he knew that fans could get heated up very easily and the younger wrestler was outnumbered one to ten.

It didn't help matters that the crowd was getting rowdier and knowing Mike's ability to piss people off, he knew things could only get uglier.

Blowing out a breath and seeing in his mind how the dirt sheets were going to have a feast on this one, Cena walked down the stairs and with the calmness of those who didn't want to do a thing but somehow felt obliged to do it, he started to walk towards the crowd.

That's when things started to turn from bad to ugly.

As he walked, he saw that one of the men reached towards Eve and touched her hair; soon after that the Colorado native slapped his hand away and confronted him.

"Don't touch me."

Laughing, the man looked at his companions and then back at her. "I'll touch you whenever I want to, you fucking slut."

With that said, he reached forward again, only that instead of touching her hair he grabbed her by the waist and pulled her towards him.

"Hey, hey!" Mike yelled, shoving the man away. And that was when another one of the men moved forward and shoved Mike back.

Quickening his steps and his eyes focused on Eve and the way the man was still grabbing her, John made it to the spot she was and without thinking it twice, he pushed the man so hard that he fell back. "What the fuck is your problem?" He asked to that man in particular and watching as he crawled back into the small crowd, he had to resist the urge of kicking him in the ribs over and over again.

"Relax man," Another one said, "We were just leaving."

"Well you better, before I call security on you." At his tone, the group started to disperse and once they were hallway gone, he turned around and grabbed Mike by the shirt.

"And what the fuck is wrong with you? Are you out of your damn mind? Next time I'll let them beat some sense into you, because God knows you need it!" Not giving Mike a chance to respond, John turned around, his intention checking on Eve.

The only problem was that she wasn't there and in a moment of blind panic, he imagined the guy he pushed away grabbing her when he wasn't looking and taking her away.

But before his imagination could continue running, he saw her hurrying back into the hotel and clenching his jaw, he followed her.

He caught up with her when she was desperately pressing the buttons of the elevator and not caring if there was someone looking; he grabbed her by the arm and dragged her to the emergency stairs.

"Let me go!" She hissed, trying to sneak away. But the more she struggled the harder John would hold her and it wasn't until he made it to his floor and opened the door to his room that he let go of her.

Pushing her inside, John kicked the door closed and walked to her. "See, did you see where acting this way got you?"

"Leave me alone." She hissed, trying to push past him to leave.

But John was not giving up; after witnessing the incident down in the parking, he was seeing red and because he was unable to take his ire on the man who grabbed her, he was taking it on her.

Not that he was going to hurt her like he wanted to hurt than man, but this was the moment he needed to use to open her eyes once and for all because honestly, the road she was taking was leading her nowhere good.

It didn't matter that they would never be, but he still cared about her and if he could save her from her own demons, he would.

With that in mind, he grabbed her by the chin and forced her face to him, then through clenched teeth, he began to speak again.

"Do you have any idea of the things that man could have done to you? Do you?" God, if he wouldn't have walked to the parking lot in time, that man could have easily taken her away to do God knew what kind of things to her.

Because let's face it, as much as Mike tried to prevent it, he wouldn't have been capable of stopping anything if the other men decided to grab him.

"And what do you care?" Eve said defiantly, standing up against him as her eyes dug critically into his.

"I care, and I care a lot." John hissed, returning her heated stare.

Snorting bitterly, Eve shook her head and said nothing.

"Jesus, Eve; don't you see that this image you created around yourself only fuels men like that to come and hurt you."

"Oh really? Well it's funny that you are so concerned about me now, but if you take a second to think back on things, I didn't create this image, you did."

At her words and at the way Eve was looking at him, John furrowed his brows. "That's not true."

"Of course it is John; if they call me hoesky and a skank is because you made them do it! You put the words in their mouth and now they can't seem to stop them."

Blinking slowly, Cena remembered that fateful night when he overhead Eve telling the Bella twins about her plans of playing him. Yeah, he said some nasty things about her and right in front of everybody and he wasn't proud of that, but at the same time she had that coming and then more.

"Oh, you mean that. Well, you should have thought about your precious reputation before you decided to play me, Zack and God knows how many men at the same time."

Snarling her lips, Eve tried to kick him; but before she could, he swirled her around and pressed her hard against the door, trapping her legs between his and securing her hands right above her head.

"Ah but I forgot; you did all this because you were seeking attention. What do I know; maybe this is the kind of attention you enjoy. You like men to fall at your feet, don't you? Well that isn't going to end well for you."

After saying that, he grabbed both her wrists with one hand and the other one he used it to grabbed her right breast roughly.

He didn't know why he did it, because he definitely didn't have in mind to succumb once again into his most primitive desires; but maybe it was just that he wanted to show her what she was provoking… or maybe it was the alcohol in him clouding his judgment.

"Let go of me John." She said in a warning.

"Why? Isn't this what you wanted, I mean last night you even gave me the key to your room and we both know you didn't plan on playing dominoes with me while in bed."

Blinking and swallowing hard, Eve bit on her lips. "That was last night, tonight I want you to let me go."

Sliding his hand down to her waist and then lower so he could unzip, unbutton and then slide her jeans down her legs, John clenched his teeth. "What if I don't? This is the only thing you want from me right? Well maybe tonight I'll give it to you."

Before Eve could react, John pressed even harder against her and forced his lips on hers. Now, the kiss wasn't tender or anything of the like, it was rough and punishing, his tongue invading her mouth without mercy until she pulled away breathless.

Sucking in a breath, Eve closed her eyes as tight as she could and shocking John into freezing in the spot, she chocked in a sob.

For an excruciating second, all John could do was watch her, but when her lips began to tremble and another sob escaped her lips, he reacted by moving both his hands to her face and pressing his forehead against hers.

He didn't want her to cry… that was the last thing in the world he wanted. "It's okay… I won't do anything… just don't cry." He mumbled, kissing her closed eyelids as his hands moved into her hair.

But she still cried, and whether she was faking it or not, John couldn't help but to feel awful about it.

"Shhh, it's okay." Trying to soothe her, he moved her from the door and placed her on the bed.

For a while he just held her, and it was only when her body stopped rocking and her cries subsided that he pulled away to look at her in face.

"That is not what I want from you, John. I don't want to be woman you just go and call when you want to get off." She said in a whisper, wiping at her eyes and blinking rapidly.

"I don't want you to be just that. Eve, you know this… I've told you time after time."

"No John, what you told me was that the only thing you ever wanted from me was getting in my pants."

"I never said that." Snorting in disbelief, John shook his head. Why would she say that? Because as far as he could remember what he has told her was that he wanted everything from her.

Looking up through her liquid eyes, Eve breathed out. "You said it, I remember it very clearly and that's what I was offering you, what you wanted."

Swallowing hard, John shook his head. He couldn't recall saying that, but he could have said it… "I say a lot of things when I'm mad, but I don't necessarily mean them all."

Not saying a thing, Eve hugged her knees to her chest and closed her eyes.

"Look," He said, moving closer and placing a hand to her cheek. "Let's forget about everything and let's start anew. Let the past stay in the past…"

Before he could finish, Eve shook her head. "I think it's too late for that."

Refusing to think that it was too late, John pulled her to him and kissed her temples. "It's never too late, never. Just tell me what you really, really want and it's done."

Breathing in, Eve rested her face to his shoulder and wrapped her arms to his middle. "I just want… I just want to put my mind in blank and stop thinking about everything."

Now, that wasn't exactly the answer he wanted, but it was better than most of the things she could have said. "Then let's help you do that."

After saying that, he lay down over the mattress and dragged her down with him; making her rest over his chest as he circled her waist with one arm.

True, it wasn't the most comfortable position in the world, but not minding much, he buried his face in her hair and closed his eyes.

For a few minutes he just breathed on her scent while feeling the warmness of her body being absorbed by him. He liked it, the way she felt, the way her hair felt under his nose and the way her body relaxed against him.

He could get used to it… that was how he started to doze off… holding her close and hoping that when morning came, she would be there with him…


	15. Chapter 15

**A/N:** I don't know about you, but I think I'm going in circles with this story and that there are no many places for me to go now. Anyway, I wrote this as an attempt to keep the story going but I have a feeling that this is soon coming to an end. I'll wait to see what happens in WM and then Raw to decide… until then, enjoy ;)

BTW, someone asked about John's chauffeur real name and I have to say that I have no idea, I wrote than name (Maurice) in honor of one of my favorite couples in wrestling haha, o.O Also, I wrote this at 4am so forgive me if it doesn't make any sense.

**XxXxX**

Signing photo after photo and passing them along only so he could be given even more to sign, John Cena stood behind a big table in the backstage area of the stadium where the WWE was going to perform that night while absentmindedly whistling a tune he has heard on the radio sometime during the day.

It has probably been on his way to the arena or at the gym where he spent most of his afternoon at, he couldn't remember, but the tune just got stuck inside his head and hours later, he was still unable to kick it away.

Not that he minded much, by then he was used to the song taking residence inside his head and his resignation was showing in the fact that he was even whistling it.

"Can you do that quietly? You are starting to piss me off."

Listening to those words and recognizing the acrid tone in which they were said, Cena smiled his patented dimple smile before lifting his head so he could take a look at the man standing opposite to him.

It was Punk, the current WWE Champion has been doing a lot of signing of his own and as always, that seemed to put him in one of his infamous sour moods.

"Seems like someone woke up in a rotten mood, uh oh." John said happily, signing another one of the photos and taking another one to do the same.

"Fuck off," Punk snapped, flipping him off and reassuming his work of signing the photographs that were probably going to sell like hot bread once they taken off to the market.

Snorting and shaking his head, John looked at Punk for a few seconds and then he folded his arms to his chest. Punk… he couldn't say that he was in a friend zone with the polemical man, but for the last couple of months they had come to a certain understanding of one another and yeah, he could even say that they were in a phase where they were somehow cordial to each other.

True, there were times like that one when the Chicago native was in one of his mood and he would tell John to fuck off and things like that; but by then the older man was used to it and he understood that the shots were not personal per see, that Punk was just like that.

"You look like hell," John said, watching with a big smile as Punk arched an eyebrow and looked at him with all the intensity of his olive green eyes.

"Really?" The tattooed man asked, holding his black marker and signing a photo without looking.

Nodding, John secured his own marker in his left hand and then he signed without looking as well. "Yeah, you look as if you haven't slept in the last year or so."

"Well I haven't slept in the last decade so what's new?"

"Right…" John replied with a chuckle, not believing the man's continues claims that he never slept.

Tilting his head, Punk narrowed his eyes and pursed his lips. "Okay shot it, what happened that you are so happy smiley all of a sudden?"

Unable to help it, John's smile grew even wider and he placed the marker down on the table, he was done for the night with the signings. "Nothing; I'm just in a good mood now that we are less than a week away from the biggest event of them all, WresteMania…"

Snarling his lips, Punk grunted. "Whatever."

John nodded, realizing at once that Punk was probably crabby because of Jericho and the personal shots he was taking at his expenses; but because he knew Punk didn't want to hear it, he didn't even bother to offer him a peep talk that could cheer him up. "Well I'm done with this so I'm out."

Not waiting for a response, John turned on his feet and started to walk away, the smile gracing his face never fading and his lips once again whistling.

So yeah, he was in a good mood and it was partly because of the road to WrestleMania coming to end; after all the tension between him and The Rock was becoming insane as the days passed by and he was more than eager to meet the Great One in the ring once and for all.

But even though he was anticipating that moment more than anything, the fact that he was in such a good mood that day was thanks to certain brunette beauty that spent most of the night with him in his hotel room.

True, he didn't wake up with her when morning came like he would have wanted, but sometime during the night he did wake up to the feeling of her, her body warm and soft pressed against his as her lips traced a path of warm kisses down his chest.

Back to that moment, his mind has been kind of clouded with sleep, but he remembered that he asked her what she was doing and her answer has been clear.

"_I won't be here when you wake up."_

At those words, he tried to sit up and reason with her. He wanted her to stay, as he saw it, they were already making good progress after the things they said earlier than night but there were still a lot of things they needed to clarify with each other.

But before he could open his mouth to say whatever it was that he was going to say, Eve slid up against him and kissed him full on the lips.

That was how it all started; she kissed him, he kissed her back until there was no air left in his lungs and then he felt her pulling away so she could go back to do what she was doing before he woke up.

He remembered it all crystal clear; her hands undressing him, her lips exploring him and then taking him inch by inch into the wet cave of her mouth and then his mind getting compromised by her expert ministrations.

The whole thing has been insane. Her lips on him felt like fire, her tongue was doing wonders on him and her fingers were securely wrapped around the base of his manhood, treating without reservation what her mouth was unable to take.

By doing that she put all his senses on the edge, every fiber of his being lost in the sweet sensation of Eve going down on him.

So no, he hadn't been able to reason to what was going on, but out of instinct he has placed his fingers on top of her head and following the up and down motion she established, he tangled his fingers through her silky hair and moaned her name gravelly.

Eve… even her name has sounded extremely pleasant rolling out of his tongue and wanting to prevent letting go too soon, John remembered how he pulled her to him and how he urgently took off her clothes until she was naked and exposed for him.

What happened next happened fast, he made her straddle him and sitting down so he could kiss her once again, he slid into her core until he was all the way in.

The feeling of her body molding against him and the raspy moans escaping out of her made him lose the little control he had until then and curling his hands to her behind, he started to slid in and out of her until his desire was out of control.

He kissed her hard and clumsily, mumbling a lot of nonsense against her lips and feeling content with the fact that she was agreeing with everything he would say. Yes she was all his, yes he was the only one she ever wanted and yes she loved the way he felt inside of her.

Her willingness and the abandon in which she gave herself to him was too much and grabbing her harder than ever, he exploded deep inside of her, marking her with his seed and holding her to him even after his lust was satiated and his manhood turned back to its normal state and thus sliding out of her.

That has been the highlight of his night, definitely, but what had him in such good spirits was that before taking a quick shower and leaving the room, Eve has promised him that they were going to meet after the show to talk…

Biting hard on his lips, the blue eyed man ran his hand up his head and taking a blind turn, he saw Zack and The Bella twins talking. The sight of that man made him halt on his tracks and he cringed, wondering if he should turn around before he could be seen.

But then, as he tried to make up his mind the twins were gone and Eve was there, talking to Zack and as his eyes saw it, flirting with him.

Ah, but what his eyes saw was nothing, the real deal came with what his ears picked up… Eve was inviting Zack into her room after WrestleMania? What the fuck?

Laughing for lack of anything better to do, John shook his head and turned around so he could hide on the corner. Once there, he pressed his back to the wall and tried to organize his thoughts.

What was she doing? He was almost a hundred percent sure that Eve wasn't really going to let Zack into her room; if she had any interest in him she would have gone for him a long time ago.

But she hadn't, she was just playing the younger man up and he couldn't understand why.

Blinking slowly, John saw as Eve turned in the corner as well, a sly grin on her face while running her hand through her hair. She hadn't seen him, but making himself noticed he stepped forward and grabbed her by the arm.

"What do you think you are doing?" He asked through clenched teeth as Eve sucked in a breath.

"Jesus, John, you scared me…" She began to say, but then she shook her head and smiled. "Anyway, I was looking for you so I'm glad you found me." That last part she said in a mellow tone of voice as she walked closer to kiss him.

The contact was brief though; she just peeked him on the lips before placing her hands on his chest.

"Really? Maybe that explains what I just saw, in your eagerness to find me you mistook Zack for me and that's why you invited him into your room. What that it?" He asked, his tone dripping sarcasm and his eyes hard on her.

Rolling her eyes, Eve breathed in. "So you saw that?"

"You're damn right I saw it." He said, feeling the way her hands tried to soothe him by sliding to his stomach and then back to his chest.

Shrugging, Eve smiled as if nothing wrong happened. "That was nothing; trust me, I don't want Zack in my room."

"I know; weird as it is I think I have a better understanding of the way that wicked mind of yours works and it's obvious you are playing with him. What I want to know is what you get out of it."

Pushing the inside of her cheek with her tongue, Eve looked down briefly and then up into his eyes. "What I do with Zack is my business only; but if your main concern is that I'll sleep with him then you don't need to worry, because that won't happen."

"Your business… alright, well maybe I'll go to Zack and tell him that you are only playing with him and that way I'll make it my business too. How about that?"

Blinking rapidly, Eve took a step back and tilted her head to the side. "And why would you do that?"

"Because I don't think it's fair what you are doing to him and fuck it, because I don't want you offering yourself like that to him, real or not I don't…"

Before he could finish, Eve laughed bitterly and interrupted him. "Fair? Well since we are talking about fair, do you think it was fair that after taking care of him and spending so many sleepless nights at the hospital with him because no one else would, that he started to call me hoeski just because I saw him as a friend and nothing else?"

Pursing his lips, John swallowed down hard. "So you are punishing him for that. Good… good… so what about me? Are you playing a different kind of game with me for calling you the things I called you?"

Clenching her jaw, Eve breathed in and fixed her eyes on him, but she didn't respond.

"Well sometimes silence speaks louder than words…" He said, feeling a sense of dread forming in the pit of his stomach.

"I'm not playing anything with you, I've told you this many times." She said at last, folding her arms to her chest.

"Well I don't believe you, I want to but I just don't." And he really wanted to; but if she wanted to punish Zack for the things he said about her, then imagine the big plan she had for him.

After all he told her many nasty things in front of a big audience, he humiliated her like no one has before and with the way her mind was operating as of late, he could see her trying to play him too.

The tears of last night? They could have been fake; the way she moaned lustily and gave herself to him? Fake too, just a little step into her big plan of enamoring him and then breaking his heart into a million pieces.

He could see it… and the worst part was that he was already there… falling hard for her.

Nodding and blinking two times, Eve opened her mouth and then clasped it shut. To John it seemed like she was plotting on a way to wrap him around her little finger once again and he was mentally getting prepared to repel her.

Yeah, he could stand strong… for a while… but he knew that if she looked at him with her lovely eyes and a sweet smile, that he was going to let her do as she pleased.

He kind of wanted that to happen because who knew, maybe her feelings for him were real and the reason she spend a good part of the night in his arms was because she really wanted to.

"If you don't believe in me then I don't see the point on this." She said, pointing to the two of them.

"This? What is '_this'_ Eve? I mean tell me because I'm lost. Just tell me what you really want from me."

Closing her eyes and taking in a deep breath, Eve shook her head. "You know, forget it John." She said angrily while turning around.

John watched her for a few seconds, but then he reacted and called after her. "Yeah, turn your back on me and go away, Eve… very mature. Just know that after tonight I won't be going after you anymore."

At his words, Eve turned around and lifted her hands in the air. "Whatever you want, but just know that when you come back to me because you will, I won't be available to play into your insecurities."

Chuckling, John watched her turn around to walk away. "Insecurities?" What the hell was she talking about? He wasn't insecure…

Hell, he was the most secure man she would ever know; it was her problem that her manners and ways of deceiving people came all wrong…

Ah, but there was something he was very aware off. He wasn't going after her; for the last two months he has done that and the results were awful. If she really wanted something with him, then she was going to be the one going after him.

If she didn't, then maybe it was better if they left things like that…


	16. Chapter 16

Okay, I have to admit something. Last Raw, when Eve came out and said that there was only one man she couldn't manipulate (I can't remember exactly if that was the word), I almost jumped out of my seat hoping that she would say John Cena. It was stupid, I know, but when she said that other John I yelled and threw my shoes at the TV! Nah not really but anyway, this chapter is me trying to keep the story going. It's not much but if there's a will there's a way right?

As always, thanks for the nice words and for still digging this story. I really appreciate it ;)

**XxXxXxXxX**

_Defeat doesn't finish a man, quit does. A man is not finished when he's defeated. He's finished when he quits._

Thinking about those words as he sat in a secluded dark corner inside his private locker room, John Cena blinked his eyes slowly as he stared absent mindedly at the white wall standing opposite to him.

He has been sitting there for a while, his back pressed hard against the door that lead into the shower, his feet resting flat on the floor and his face hidden underneath the false anonymity that his cap provided.

He has been meaning to get up though, but his spirits were deceiving him that night and for every attempt he would make, every bone of his body would scream loudly in pain and he would end up sliding back into a sitting position.

So yeah, he was physically messed up, and if he would be the kind of man who liked to point fingers, he would blame it all on the brutal match he had the previous night.

Now musing about the match was the reason he has been replaying those words inside his head in the first place and going back to the same, he blew out a breath.

Defeat… the word has been dancing in his mind ever since the previous night, bouncing inside his skull and digging deep into his brain.

Defeat, that terrible word; a word he hadn't even considered until he was at the grandest stage of them all… his back to the mat while being pinned to the count of three.

So yes, he has been defeated, and even though he wasn't going to sit there making excuses for himself or worse, feel sorry about what happened, he couldn't help but to feel nauseous at the bitter taste the word was leaving in his mouth.

"Now look at this… John Cena sitting in the dark and all broken up…"

Startling a little but recognizing the voice that spoke to him, John felt his jaw automatically locking, his head tilting to the side so he could take a look at him.

From his position, the man was nothing but a shadow, standing tall somewhere at his side and his terrible laugh echoing through the room.

In any other occasion, John would have jumped to his feet and without thinking it twice he would have beat the big man until there was nothing left of him, but that night he was aching all over and he was almost a hundred percent sure that his muscles wouldn't cooperate if he went up to fight.

"How did you get in here?" He asked darkly, moving his head away and looking back at the wall.

"I came to see you, John, I came to see you drowning in that tumultuous sea of defeat; I wanted to see you broken up."

Snorting bitterly, John lifted a hand to his temples and ran a thumb over his brows. "Then sorry to disappoint, but I'm anything but broken up. Banged up? Yes, but never broken."

Laughing again and staying glued to the spot, the shadow went on. "You _are_ broken up, John… I can see it in your eyes and I can definitely smell it out of you. Your spirit is broken and your essence shattered. Oh but this is no one's fault but your own; because I told you loud and clear that in order to win the biggest battle of your life, you needed to embrace hate."

Shaking his head and his lips curving in a grimace, John replied. "Are we going back to that? I thought that the message was clear after I beat you last time; I don't embrace hate, I rise above it. Look, even my t-shirt says it." He finished up with a bit of sarcasm while pointing out his new shirt.

Not that the man cared, he just looked down on him and shook his head. "Poor, poor John, you still don't get it, don't you? The words in your shirt mean nothing. Yes you beat me, but you never rose above anything; you got stuck in a place somewhere in between and now you are lost."

"I am not lost." John said through clenched teeth, looking up and seeing that in the darkness, Kane looked even creepier than he did in plain light.

He also wondered why neither one of them was attacking the other…

"Of course you are. I've been watching you, I've seen you struggle and I've seen you fail. Let's take Eve for example…"

"Oh come one." Groaning, John closed his eyes and pursed his lips. He didn't want to talk about her, and let alone with Kane.

"You want her. You want her more than anything else in the world but deep inside you know you won't have her until you stop battling that inner conflict where doing the right thing is winning against doing what you want to do."

"Are you done? Because all that bullshit is making no sense to me." John spat angrily. And really, Kane was making no sense at all. Eve had nothing to do with anything there… he didn't even know why her name was thrown into that strange conversation.

"You should do as she did; she embraced hate, she stopped playing into what others wanted her to be and that's what bothers you the most. But John… she only did what you should have done long ago, she started doing what she wanted and how she wanted it and deep inside that's what you crave… it's called freedom."

Puffing out a breath, John shook his head. "You are insane, but thanks for the pep talk, I promise I'll think about it one day."

Apparently getting irate, Kane walked closer. "Did you really believe that you rose above it when week after week you were sneaking behind that fool Zack Ryder to be with her? No John, all that lying… the betrayal? That's not rising above hate, that's embracing it, that's giving in into what you want to do and not into what others expect you to do."

"Look, whatever happened with her, it doesn't have to do anything with this; and really man, I don't know what you are doing here or what do you want from me, but you need to just… go."

Laughing again, Kane went on. "I wonder what your beloved Cenation would think if they knew the demons you battle, and don't tell me you don't have any demons just because you managed to stay the whole week without going to her; because even though you didn't, you were unable to focus on anything that wasn't her."

"You don't know what you are talking about…"

And no he didn't, Kane could try to mess with his head all he wanted, but there was no way he knew for sure about what was on his mind.

Sure, he couldn't deny that Eve has been a constant thought in his mind; after all with it been WrestleMania weekend and with everybody staying in the same hotel, he ran into her a couple of times.

He saw her by the pool, he saw her plotting with Beth and yes, he even saw her with Zack. But keeping true to his resolution of staying away and feeling more than sure with each passing day that she was never going to him to fix things, he moved on and put all his mindset on getting ready for his match.

It proved to be futile, of course, because at the end of the night he didn't win, he didn't get the woman and he had to sleep with at least three icy/hot pads strategically placed where he was hurting the most.

"I know exactly what I'm talking about so hear me out, the thing with Eve and The Rock and even with me was nothing compared to what's to come, so if you really want to prevail, you will need to embrace hate once and for all. I'll even give you a head start. Go to Eve… the rest will come easier."

To that John shook his head. "No, I wouldn't be me if I did that. Whatever is to come, I'll always know that in hard times the only thing I have is me, my believes and the knowledge that I'll always do the right thing."

"Then I feel sorry for you, John…"

Chuckling, John opened his eyes and turned around to face him; but just when he did it, he saw that there was no one with him in that room anymore and wondering where Kane went, a chill ran down his spine.

Blinking rapidly, he moved his head to side to side, finding nothing but darkness.

"What the…"

Groaning, he put all his effort to get up to his feet and made it to the door, still finding nothing.

Frowning, the leader of Cenation walked out the door and for the first time since arriving to the arena, he allowed himself to be seen.

But walking through the corridors was like walking the green mile. He could feel eyes all over him but no one dared to approach.

It was funny in a weird kind of way and he chuckled. But as he kept moving on he saw her, standing near catering and talking in hushed voices with Mike.

Now, it was the second time since their messed up affair started and then ended that he would see her with the man and grinding his teeth, he stopped to watch her.

The two of them seemed oblivious for a while, but as John began to wonder what was going on with those two, Eve's face turned to the side and her eyes locked with his.

Pushing the inside of his cheek with his tongue, the muscled man shook his head lightly and adjusting his cap, he turned around and kept walking.

As he did so, he could feel her eyes still on him, but because he couldn't dwell on her for the rest of his life, he kept moving forward, placing one foot in front of the other and getting farther and farther away.

Now, at a difference from all the previous times he has seen her during the week, this time John wasn't secretly hoping that she would go after him. He knew she wasn't going to and for a reason he couldn't quite comprehend, that only made him feel empty inside.

He was running on empty, his lost against The Rock, his demise with Eve, the weird encounter with Kane… everything was adding up and he was in a point where he was both physically and mentally drained.

But there was nothing to do about that so he sucked it up and refusing to be knocked down, he decided to go out to the ring and address the public about WrestleMania. There was nothing like feeling the crowd come alive around him and for the time being, he was going to seek relief in that.

So yeah, he went out there and talked, letting part of his feelings come afloat… but somewhere during his speech, when he was calling Dwayne out so he could tell him face to face that he was the better man, none other than Brock Lesnar came out and he had to admit it, he was surprised to see him there.

The crowd went crazy; it was actually electrifying to be there when it happened and smiling as he always did, he extended his hand to welcome the man back.

That was when things turned bad. Brock picked him up and the next thing he knew he was been slammed hard in the middle of the ring.

Now, with his body still resenting him about his encounter with The Rock the night before, Brock made him feel as if a truck hit him and then ran over him and he couldn't remember how was it that he made it backstage.

All he knew was that he was hurting like never before and that somehow he made it back into his locker room, falling face first into a leather sofa and groaning his pain away.

What the hell was going on? Why couldn't he take a break of everything and everyone?

It was almost too much for him to bear and musing about that, he remained motionless for the longest time. He even dozed off, blacking out…

"John-"

Opening one eye and then the other, John pursed his lip as someone shook his shoulder. He knew this someone… perhaps too well. But he was probably imagining it so he closed his eyes again.

True, it was uncomfortable to lay in that position with his back bothering him so much; but the alternative was getting up and make it to his rental.

Yeah, his rental; he has given Maurice the week off while they were in Miami and the consequences were that now he had to drive to the hotel.

He couldn't drive like that, not when he was feeling like shit.

"John," She said, a bit more loudly and this time John moved.

"Eve?" He asked in a groan, moving his head to the side and catching a glimpse of her soft brown hair brushing his side. That was all he saw, but probably out of himself, he snorted. "You came."

Instead of replying, the young Diva ran her fingers through his hair and then she tried to turn him around.

He helped her attempts, sitting over the sofa and once facing her, blinking slowly.

"Why did you come?"

Moving her hand to his cheek, Eve bit her lips. "I wanted to make sure you were alright."

"I'm fine… I mean I've been a hell of a lot worse and I'm still here." He said in a dark whisper, closing his eyes once again and liking the way her fingertips moved against his skin.

It was almost a tender caress and with the way he was feeling, he found comfort in her touch.

"Good, I guess I'll keep moving then." She said, dropping her hand away from him.

At those words, John opened his eyes and stared deep into her soft green eyes. "You don't have to leave."

As soon as he said that, Eve arched an eyebrow. "Stay? So we get to stay here all night long, I don't think so."

"No…" Biting his lips because he wasn't going to tell her that what he meant was that he didn't want her to leave him, John chuckled. "Never mind, for a second I forgot that asking you anything was a lost cause."

Without saying a word, Eve closed the distance that separated them and pecked his lip softly. It happened too fast, so fast that John didn't even have the chance to lift a hand and hold her close.

"Just to make you swallow your words, I think I should get you out of here and back to the hotel."

"Just to prove me wrong?"

"Or I maybe should leave you all alone to manage as you can."

"You've already done that." John said, looking down to her lips and then back into her eyes.

Rolling her eyes, the brunette got to her feet and John thought that she was going to leave; but then she grabbed his arm and made a motion with her head. "Come on, I'll get you out of here; but after that I'm gone so don't even think on asking me for more."

"I won't." John said, blinking.

"Good, then let's go."


	17. Chapter 17

Alright! I have a bunch of news to share so I hope you have extra time to bear with me. First good news, I'm alive! Yup, had a scare and had to stay a few days in the hospital but with some bedrest, the doctor said that me and the baby will make it fine. Bad news, a close friend of mine lost her three year old daughter last Friday and that put me in a depressed mood, one that I'm still feeling to this day. But that's not all the bad news I have, here's the BIG one: I've gone stupid… at least according to a lovely reviewer who couldn't even log in to let me know her discontent about me having a bunch of stories and not updating them when she wanted me to.

Now, here's the thing and I'll say it knowing that I'll probably upset a few nice readers: I don't **have** to write if I can't or if I don't want to. If I do it in the first place is because I like to, but I'm not obliged to do it.

But anyway, another good news: If you don't like my lack of updates or the amount of stories I have going, you don't have to read, just ignore me and my stories and that's it, no big deal. Bad news, I've dealt with haters in the past and at this point I don't care. I have a daughter to take care of (and another one on the way), a husband, a job, a social life and most importantly, my health, and I'll put them all before a story any day and any time. With that said, here's my crappy update… the next one will come this week, next month or tomorrow… who knows? Meh

**XxXxXxX**

The first thought that ran through John Cena's mind as soon as the door to his hotel suite closed quietly behind his back, was that Eve didn't drop him at the door and left him there to his luck like she said she was going to do.

No, quite the contrary; what she did was lead him into the spacious room and once they were both in, she was the one shutting close the wooden barrier that separated them from the rest of the world.

Now, John didn't really know what to think about that. After WrestleMania and all its events were over, he has been almost a hundred percent positive that the woman didn't want anything to do with him anymore and he was even surer that staying away from her was the best thing he could ever do.

But now… now she was there with him. She came to him when he least expected it and he just didn't know what to make of that. He just knew that he didn't want her to leave and what was worse, he knew that he would be unable to make her stay once she decided to move on like she was probably going to do.

"Nice room, bigger that the tour bus that's for sure." Eve said, turning on her heels and walking pass him.

Pushing the inside of his cheek with his tongue, the former WWE Champion observed her movements through half closed eyes, but as he watched he remained motionless, standing on a spot near the door.

As for Eve, she just moved to a nearby table and placing her designer's handbag on top of it, she started to rummage the inside of it until she found a small bottle that she took out.

"Here, take this. It's going to make you feel better."

Blinking slowly, John tilted his head to the side and frowned. Eve was now walking back to him with two small tablets in her palm and apparently, she was offering them to him.

"What's that?"

Arching an eyebrow and her green orbs fixing into his blue ones, Eve pursed her lips and shook her head lightly. "Just aspirin." She said coldly, using her free hand to grab his wrist and then turning his hand palm up so she could place the two pills there. "I'm not going to trick you into taking some kind of psychedelic drug, John, but it's good to know you have so little faith in me."

With that said, she turned around and headed towards the kitchen to grab a glass that she filled with water.

As he did before, John just watched her, his eyes following her around until she was face to face with him once again, handing him the water so he could down the pills easily.

"I'm fine, I don't need aspirins." He said, his voice coming as a bit husky and his eyes never leaving hers.

Nodding and pursing her lips, Eve took the two tablets away from his hand and once again she was turning her back to him. "I knew this was a mistake." She mumbled, placing the pills and the glass of water over the table before grabbing her handbag.

John saw her intention to leave at once and ignoring the pain that was still bothering his back, he walked to her and grabbed her shoulders to make her look at him. "Why come to me if your intentions were to walk out on me again?"

And really, going to him in the weak state of mind that he was going through at the moment was the equivalent of giving him wings to fly only to take them away when he was as high as he could.

Not that he harbored much hope during their ride to the hotel… but still… his mind had played with the possibility that they could patch things up that night and that was enough to make him feel frustrated.

Opening her eyes as wide as she could, Eve just snorted. "Because I stupidly wanted to make sure that you were okay; but since you say you are fine I don't see why I need to stay here."

Once the words were out of her lips, Eve tried to sneak out of his hold, but John used the advantage of his size against her and managed to hold her in place.

"And did you really care if I was fine or not?" He asked in a hiss.

Chuckling, Eve shrugged. "Why should I answer that if you are not going to believe the answer anyway?"

Closing his eyes and pressing his forehead to hers, John breathed out. In his mind Eve was and would always be an enigma to him and the way she acted only confused him to no ends.

One day she didn't want to deal with him, the other one she transformed into a temptress whose main goal was to get him in bed and the next one she would imply that she genuinely cared about him.

He just couldn't get her.

"You know what?" He asked in a breath, opening his eyes so he could look down to her face. "I've never known a woman that could mess with my mind the way you are doing right now. I just don't get you. I don't know what you want, I don't know what you expect from me and you just…" Snorting bitterly, he closed his eyes again and slid his hands to the back of her head. "You are just driving me crazy." And yeah, even when he wouldn't say it to her out loud, he was certain that she was one of the few people walking the earth that could truly bring out the worse of him.

It was like a song that started playing on his iPod when he was working out the other day. He didn't know how the tune made it to his playlist since it was not the kind of music he liked, but somehow it was there and during the whole day, he was unable to get a small part of the lyrics out of his head.

The words just settled perfectly with the confusion reigning in his mind when it came to her and as he held her close, they just came back.

'_I love you, I hate you, I can't live without you...'_

"I'm not doing anything to you." Eve replied, her hands moving to his sides and her breath caressing his safe tenderly.

"Of course you are…" Couldn't she see it?

"You really want to know what your problem is? You think too much, you overanalyze things and to make it worse you have this idea stuck in your head that things have to be a certain way or they can't be at all. You look at things as being either white or black and what you are missing is that there are a lot of different colors out there and that it's not a bad thing to look at them too."

With his lips curving into a sad smile, John moved his head away from hers so he could stare into her eyes. What she was saying was very similar to the things that Kane told him and even though her way sounded better, he just couldn't change his mode of seeing things so easily.

"There can be a thousand ways of looking at things; but I can't look at them all without losing the essence of what make me be me."

Rising on her tiptoes, Eve kissed the corner of his mouth. Her lips remained pressed to his skin for long prolonged seconds and it was only when she pulled away that John was able to breathe again.

That was how he knew he had it bad for her, because now he was hanging on a simple gesture that probably meant nothing to her.

"Be careful," The brunette said while moving her hands slowly to his hips. "Brock was brought back with the intention of destroying you and they won't stop until they do it."

Squinting his eyes, John tilted his head to the side. "You mean Laurinaitis?" That was another thing, he has taken notice that Eve was siding with the General Manager and his goonies and he liked that even less than he liked her hanging with the Miz.

It was just that those men were always up to no good and that was part of the reason he and Eve should never be. They were on different levels, they were on different sides and if what she said was true and Laurinaitis was set on destroying him through Brock Lesnar, then things between them were going to get even more complicated.

At his question, Eve puffed out a breath and shrugged. "Just be careful, okay?" With that said, she took her hands away from him and took a step back.

The only problem was that John's left hand was still glued to the back of her head and unable to resist it, he pulled her back to him and kissed her full on the lips.

Now, much to his delight, her resistance to him was zero and as soon as their lips met she circled her arm around his neck and tilted her head to the side. That way she was giving him unlimited access to deepen the kiss at will and that was exactly what he did.

He kissed her like he has wanted to do for a long time, his hand running down her spine, his tongue seeking hers with need and having the satisfaction of having her kiss him back with the same fervor.

It was more than what he expected from that night and his mind was already getting clouded with the promise of her.

So, trying to make the best out of the situation, John swirled her around and tried to get her closer; but his back was sore, his muscles were not cooperating and the only thing he managed was to emit a low growl of pain a second after ending the kiss.

"Shit." He mumbled against her lips. He was going to get Brock for messing him up so bad and he was going to do it as soon as he lay his eyes on him. It didn't matter where it was, but Brock was going to pay with interest.

"See, you are not fine." Eve said knowingly.

True to his good nature, John tried to smile at those words and the way she said them. "Does that mean that you will stay here with me?"

"That means that you need to take those aspirins and get some rest." She whispered, shaking her head and looking down. "As for me, I need to keep going."

Shaking his head, John closed his eyes. "I knew you were going to say that eventually, I was just hoping you didn't."

Instead of replying, Eve just kissed him once more, parting her lips and allowing him brief access into her mouth before pulling back again. "Just remember what I told you."

"Stay." He said through clenched teeth. Yeah, he knew he promised himself a thousand times that he was not going to ask her anything of the kind, but he just had to try one last time, he just had to. "This will be the last time I ask you this so it's up to you now."

Closing her eyes and taking a deep breath, Eve shook her head. "I can't…"

Nodding, John shrugged. "Alright then. I guess this is it then. Thanks for the driving me here and…"

Not letting him finish talking, Eve pressed her fingers to his lips as she looked deep into the depths of his eyes. "Look; you take the pills and get some rest and I'll stay here until you fall asleep. That's my only offer, take it or leave it."

Biting his lips not to smile, John cleared his throat. "Sounds good." And yes it did, in his mind Eve was little by little giving in and he was going to make sure he used his time right to make her go completely to him…


	18. Chapter 18

First things first; Am I the only one hoping that Eve's motives for this 'businesses partnership' with Laurinaitis are all about Cena? Lol, I don't think so but let's hope they'll interact now, somehow, someway… ah, wishful thinking. Anyway, thanks for the support and the nice reviews, you are the best ;)

P.S. I meant to post this yesterday for Cena's b-day but I just couldn't find the time to write it. But hey, better late than never and what's better than some 4am writing, right? Enjoy.

XxXxXxX

John woke up to the distinct feeling that he was falling. It made him wake up startled, blinking his eyes open as his body jerked forward in a sitting position.

That right there wasn't an unknown feeling to him and as many times before, it took him a little more than a minute for his still fussy mind to get back on track or at least to have a better notion of time and space.

Until that happened, the only thing that could register in his brain was that he was in a dark room and that his back was still hurting.

Sure, the pain has diminished into a dull throb, but it was still there… very present all through his back.

Taking in a deep breath, the tall man tried to focus his eyes, looking around as a way to recognize the room he was in; but it wasn't until he spotted one of his suitcases lying open on the floor that he came to realize that he was in his hotel room.

Yeah, one of those hotel rooms somewhere down the road.

But still, even with the mystery of his whereabouts solved, he was still feeling slightly disoriented… his mind swirling around, his heart beating unusually fast inside his chest and the palms of his hands sweating…

It was almost as if he was waking up from a bad dream, the kind that terrorized you in your sleep but that you couldn't quite remember once you woke up.

"It's nothing-" He mumbled to himself and running both his hands through his short hair, he tried to remember if he has been dreaming at all.

Nothing came up, his mind was blank and he couldn't remember any nightmare; the only thing he remembered was Brock Lesnar attacking him.

Not that he needed his mind to be in its full capacity to remember that, after all he had a sore back that wasn't going to let him forget any time soon and no, it was no wonder that whenever the man came into a room, people would think say 'here comes the pain.'

Groaning at the knowledge of the havoc that was to come into his life, the former WWE champion dragged his body out of bed and once both his feet where on the floor, he limped his way towards the bathroom.

So yeah, things were going to turn from grey to black, but for now he didn't want to trouble his mind with Brock and the implications that the man came to get him meant. There was going to be a lot of time to muse about that and for now he just wanted to go to the bathroom, swallow a few more pills and then go back to bed.

But as it always happened, his plans were ruined and as he made the slow progress from one pint to the other, he heard someone talking out his bedroom door. True, the voice was barely above a whisper, but he heard it fine so closing his eyes to slits, he deviated and walked to the door instead.

Now, the door was half open so the only thing he had to do was push it slightly so he could take a look at the small living room in his hotel suite and much to his surprise, the first thing he saw was Eve Torres sitting in the sofa and talking in her phone.

The living room wasn't as dark as his bedroom, no… Eve had a lamp turned on so taking a good look at her came easy.

She was just there, back resting comfortable to the back of the sofa, her heels lying on the carpet and her phone glued to her ear.

As of yet she wasn't aware that John was there so he took the opportunity to cross his arms up to his chest to keep looking at her.

Eve… now that his mind was clearer, John remembered that she was the one that helped him into his room after Brock attacked him. He also remembered that she said that she was going to stay with him until he fell asleep so it shouldn't be such a surprise that she was there.

True, she remained in the room a while longer, apparently… but it wasn't as if she broke into the suite while he was passed out.

Blinking slowly, he watched her a while longer, wondering with who she was talking so late into the night. After all, according to his bedside clock it was almost three o'clock in the morning and as far as he was concerned, it wasn't a conventional hour to be chatting.

Could it be that she was talking to the Miz or perhaps with Laurinaitis? He couldn't tell because Eve's voice was almost a whisper, but thinking that it could be either one of those two, John dropped his arms to his sides and cleared his throat.

At the noise, Eve turned her head to him, her soft green eyes meeting his at once. "I'll have to call you back." She mumbled into the phone and without waiting for an answer, she hung up. "You woke up."

Pushing the inside of his cheek with the tip of his tongue, John nodded. He knew it wasn't any of his business and that he shouldn't push things with her… but at the same time he couldn't help but to feel a pang of jealousy running down his spine and he just had to ask. "Who was that on the phone?"

Not missing a beat, Eve smiled. It was the kind of smile that was too big to be genuine and John couldn't help but to tense his jaw and look at her suspiciously. "Ah, no one important. Are you feeling any better?"

Nodding his head one time, John observed as Eve got to her feet and started to walk to him. She did it on barefoot, and once she was close enough she lifted a hand to grab the edge of his shirt between two of her fingers.

"I told you those pills were going to make you feel better, I mean the pills and some rest."

"How long I was out." He asked somberly, not quite remembering going to bed. Yeah, he could recall that Eve made him take the pills and that he took them meaning to stay awake the longest time just so she wouldn't go… but then things started to get fussy and the next thing he knew, he was waking up.

"Just a couple of hours." Eve replied, sliding her hand from his shirt to his hand to pull at him back into the bedroom. "Come on,"

Following her and still thinking about that phone call, John watched as Eve moved gracefully in front of him and when she halted to turn around, he stopped as well.

He wanted to ask the question again, but like he said before, he didn't want to push things too far.

It was a miracle that she was still there and maybe he just had to take what he could get. After all, hadn't the woman showed that she cared about him in her own way? That was more than he thought he could get earlier that night... it was better than nothing.

Taking him out of his thoughts, Eve spoke. "But you still need to rest some more. Here, let me help you." With that said, Eve grabbed his shirt once again and started to pull it off.

"What are you doing?" He asked in a hiss, but he still lifted up his hands and allowed her to take the shirt off. Yeah... even when the motion sent a stab of pain into his back.

As if it was nothing, Eve shrugged again. "Well, since you are wearing the same clothes since getting to the arena last night, I though a shower would do you some good. You'll be amazed at the things a hot shower can do to you."

"Uh," He mumbled, his eyes lowering down and watching as her hands started to work on his pants. She just unbuttoned it, dragged the zipper down and pulled at them, making them slide down his legs along with his boxers.

Still watching her, he stepped out of them, standing naked as the day God brought him into this world. Sure, it wasn't the first time the woman has seen him naked, but there was something odd about it that night…

"Well…" Eve said, grabbing his hand once again and guiding him into the bathroom. Once there she turned on the shower, checked the temperature and swirled around to face him once more. "Go ahead."

As if he was walking in a dream, John got into the shower, feeling the warm water falling over him and yeah, he couldn't deny it, soothing him. But at the same time, his mind was troubling him again and the reason was the woman standing behind him.

"Why are you still here?" The words escaped John's lips before he could think on them. But when he turned around to face Eve, she didn't seem surprised in the sightless.

"You asked me to stay, didn't you?"

"I did…" And as far as he could remember, she told him that she was going to stay until he fell asleep and nothing more.

She had always been hesitant about staying with him, so what changed now?

Arching an eyebrow and refusing to look away from his eyes, Eve reached up and pushed the straps of her dress down her shoulders. John just watched, and when she started to push the whole dress down her body until she was standing only in a matching set of strapless bra and panties, he had to swallow hard down.

Now, he had seen her with much less than that and more than once, but he was still amazed at how perfect she was and hurting or not, he could feel his body reacting to the visuals already.

Without breaking the eye contact, Eve reached behind her back to unclasp her bra, letting it fall on the floor as she stepped into the shower.

Once close to him and without saying anything, she pushed him lightly until he was underneath the spray and then she grabbed the body of body wash to pour some into her hand.

Soon after, she started to rub her hands to his chest, working on circular motions until she had him nicely soaped. As she did it, her eyes were glued to his and the tip of her tongue was running smoothly across her bottom lip.

What she was doing was hypotonic and as if he was in a trance, he watched as her hands lowered down to repeat the same treat to his stomach.

"Do you still want me to stay?" Eve asked, her velvety voice carrying many unspoken promises.

At the question, John nodded without thinking, liking the way her hands moved all the way from his stomach, up to his chest and then to his neck.

Once up there, she got closer so she could slid her fingers to the back of his head and then she started to massage the back of his neck gently.

Groaning softly, John closed his eyes to enjoy the moment. By then he was as hard as he was going to get and he was sure that Eve noticed, after all her body was almost glued to his and his erection was pressing hard against her flat stomach.

"Do you still want me to stay?"

Opening his eyes, John looked at her.

She was standing close, so close that if he leaned a bit forward, he was going to end up kissing her. And he wanted to do it… but at the same time there was something in his head that wasn't leaving him alone.

"Who was that on the phone?"

Pursing her lips and sliding her hands to his chest, Eve arched an eyebrow. "I asked you first."

"You know I want you to, but I don't want to keep going in circles with you. Was it Laurinaitis?"

Humming, Eve kissed his lips softly and then pulled her head back. "It was him."

Snorting and taking a step back, John ran his hand down his face. "Why would you… you know, I don't even want to know." Oh but he did, he wanted to know what was with them and he wanted to know if she has offered herself to the old man the same way she was offering to him in that moment.

If that was the case, he couldn't allow her to stay… he just couldn't.

"Are you sleeping with him?"

Blowing out a breath, Eve shook her head. "Of course I'm not, John…" She started to say, but before she could finish, he silenced her by crashing his lips on hers.

That was he kissed her hard, his tongue sliding pass her lips and his hands circling her small waist as a way to bring her even closer.

Eve allowed him to do as he pleased and when he had to pull back for air, she pressed her forehead against his.

"If I stay, it will not be to talk about work and that means Laurinaitis; if I stay you'll have to trust me."

Not taking the time to think on her words, John kissed her again, ignoring the pain in his back and the voice in the back of his head telling him that no, he shouldn't trust her and that the best thing he could do was pull away and send her out.

At the moment he didn't think it was important, at the moment the only thing that mattered was that she was staying and he meant to make her stay for good…


	19. Chapter 19

I'm way behind with this story. I mean I wanted to update after each Raw but somehow I lost track! Well, I'm moving forward, this chapter is a fill in to catch up so it's mostly a big ramble resuming a couple of weeks. Also, with so much drama, I wanted to lighten Eve and John's mood even if it was only for this one. (depends on Raw this week) Hope you like it ;)

**XxXxXxXxX**

"What hour is it?"

At the sound of that velvety voice asking that question in a whisper that came out as if it was torn right from the back of her throat, John fluttered his eyes open and with the hint of a smile gracing his features, he looked at the woman lying by him.

She was resting on her side, eyes closed to the world as if she was sleeping, lips slightly pouted, face partially hidden underneath a soft mass of brown hair that looked inviting to the touch and a hand tucked underneath the pillow.

It was hard to keep his eyes away from the sight of her in her most relaxed moment so with the smile still on his lips, he turned to his side to take a better look.

Eve… by watching her like that, there was no doubt in his mind that she was truly a sight to be seen; lying there with her inviting curves and the promise of her generous lips at his reach.

It may sound weird, but watching her like that gave him some kind of comfort and he wished he could have her like that more often.

Thinking about the possibility of that happening, he lowered his clear blue eyes, taking notice on the fact that she was dressed in one of his shirts and that there was nothing else underneath. That right there made him want to stay in bed all day long and really, by the way they were going, they could probably do it.

After all it was a bit after noon and yet they were still in bed.

Now, three weeks ago he wouldn't have believed that he would be living that moment. No… three weeks ago he would have sworn that things with Eve were done and over for good and honestly speaking, that would have been best for everyone around. But by a twist of fate, things between them didn't end… in fact, they seemed far from ending.

Not that they were officially dating or anything, but since the night Brock Lesnar came back and attacked him, their relationship underwent some kind of change and even though he couldn't decide if that was really good for him, they had been spending a hell of a lot more time together.

So yeah, it started that night when she came to him when he was hurting, it continued when she spent the entire night with him and even when she eventually left in the morning, it dragged on until the following week's Raw.

That time she came to him too, but at a difference from the previous time where she showed genuine concern, she went to him that night mad as a wild cat, questioning his sanity and asking what the hell he was thinking.

Has he gone crazy? She asked, because according to her, the only reasonable way of explaining why he walked to Brock Lesnar to slap the taste out of his mouth, was that he completely lost it.

John hadn't been in the mood that night, the little brawl with Lesnar had left him with a bloody lip that trainers couldn't seem to control and her words weren't welcomed at all. He told her so, only to make her even madder. But when the night was done and it was time to leave, she was waiting for him in his tour bus.

Talking about what happened in the ring and about what would become of them was not necessary that night, she just sneaked into his room and when the door was closed she was worrying the sensitive skin of his throat with her kisses.

Soon after, clothes were discarded, the moment started to heat up and lifting her up so she could wrap her legs around him, he took her right on the spot.

It has been something, raw, quick and senseless, and as soon as it was done she was getting dressed while making excuses to go and he was left as always, with the things he really wanted to say left unsaid.

That right there made him think about the whole thing and about how she was never really going to go completely to him; but days after when he arrived at his hotel room in Europe and she was there, things started to change once again.

It was during the International tour that she started to appear in his room every single night only to leave in the morning, her only condition the one she told him that first night in the shower; that they could talk about everything but work.

Now, through all those nights, they didn't always necessarily end up naked and all over each other and believe it or not, the nights when nothing but a few furtive kisses were exchanged between them were the ones he like the most.

Last night has been one of those, they just silently watched a movie and when he realized that she fell asleep in the middle of it, he went to sleep as well.

Ah, but by morning things went entirely a different way and at the memory of the way she woke him up, he smiled satisfied.

So yup, it has been a nice one on one session, after that breakfast and more sleeping.

Now, as a rule, John never remained in bed until late when he was on the road, but that day was his birthday and he was going to forget about everything but the woman he was looking at. After all, he knew that she was going to go very soon and he wanted to make the best out of the time they had left.

Smiling more widely at the possibilities at hand, he extended his arm towards her and with his right hand he reached underneath the shirt she was wearing to run his fingers along her hip.

Pulling her to him, his fingers started tracing random patterns on her naked skin. "What if we don't show up at tonight's Raw?" He whispered in her ear and she hummed.

They could stay there in his tour bus, they could go to her hotel room or they could do something they had never done before… they could go out and who knew, eat at a nice restaurant or something.

"Tonight is the contract signing, you have to show up."

Shrugging, John closed his eyes and sighed. Yeah, the contract signing… he almost forgot about that. "Well we can still stay here until last minute." He said and showing him a smile of her own, she hummed again. "But there are certain requirements for that… I mean it's my birthday and I get a bit picky about this kind of stuff"

Eve peeked at him through half closed eyes and furrowed her brow. "What kind of requirements?"

John slid his fingers from her hip up to her breast, letting his hand rest over her succulent flesh while his thumb did its work there. "Well, to begin with you are wearing too much clothing; you have to lose that thing"

Closing her eyes again, the Diva bit lightly on her lips and smiled. "Why don't you take it off yourself Mr. picky?"

Before he could do as requested, her phone started to ring and groaning, he saw as she turned around to pick it.

"Don't take it." He said all serious while taking the phone from her hand and placing it underneath the bed. He had a pretty good idea of who it was and he didn't want her to take the call.

Hell, he didn't even want her to have any kind of contact with the man and the fact that she allowed him the liberty of calling her at any given hour was too much for him.

What could they possible talk about anyway?

"John… it can be important."

"I'm sure it can wait until tonight; but this… this can't wait." He said through clenched teeth, not really wanting to lose his cool. After all he promised that he was going to trust her and he didn't want her to know that he was still having issues in that aspect.

With that said, he placed a kiss on her shoulder and rolled over so he could hover over her.

"Now where were we?" He mumbled, lowering himself so he could grab the edge of the shirt with his teeth, dragging it up her body until her stomach was completely uncovered. He then released the shirt and occupied his lips with meandering through her warm skin.

Eve sighed dreamily and rested her hand over his head, holding him in place and encouraging him to keep going. He smiled at that, tracing a path from her navel all the way to up until he got lost in the valley of her breast…

"Are you sure this can't wait?" Eve said with a laugh and just by her laid back tone, he knew she forgot all about the call. Or at least he hoped so…

True, it would be better if he could make her forget about associating herself with the likes of Raw's General Manager but he was pretty sure that he could do that with time.

"I'm a hundred percent positive about it."

After mumbling that, he placed a kiss on the curve of her breast and not letting her respond, he slid his lips north and captured her already hard peak with his mouth, his tongue swirling around her.

Now Eve, if there was something about her that he knew, it was that she tasted divine and he could feel himself getting hard for her already.

Her taste, the way her naked skin felt and the way she kissed was something Laurinaitis was never going to find out and that made him smile. Yes, he was sure that Eve was not sleeping with the man, but he had a feeling that it wasn't because the older man didn't want to.

He trusted her in that aspect… but there were still a lot of issues between them that weren't completely fixed…

"Hmmm" She whispered, arching her back to him.

"Hmmm?" What does that mean?" He asked in his always good nature while taking off her shirt and tossing it away before she wrapped her arms around his neck. "Is it good or is it bad?"

"Good, definitely good." She hissed, leaning forward and kissing the spot right below his jaw. As she did that, she moved underneath him and when she had him between her legs, she licked her lips and smiled. "But this is even better."

Nodding at her response, John smiled. He was already naked so now that she was too he leaned against her to feel the warm contact of skin against skin. "Hmmm," He mumbled mimicking her. "Then wait until we get to the good part.

Eve laughed at that and threw her head back. That was a thing that would always leave him in a trance, watching her laugh. But it was just because their affair didn't start in the most joyful of ways and that they had gone through thin and thick in such a short period of time was almost surreal.

But now they were there and he was glad that she felt comfortable enough to laugh with him, and even when that didn't happen too often, he enjoyed the times it happened.

"Eve… I don't know what you are doing to me but you completely made me lose my mind." He breathed out before kissing her.

As they lay there kissing, her hips fired up to clash against his and he met her with a hard thrust, the result was immediate and the most intimate part of their dance began.

That right there was one of the reasons he couldn't stay away; it felt great to have her like that, to make her moan, to feel her losing her control because of him… it was just amazing; her scent, her skin, her taste…

By then he was pretty sure that he would do anything to keep her with him but at the same time, he hoped things wouldn't have to go to that point. He just hoped that she wanted to stay with him as much as he wanted it.

Thinking about that, he felt her arch her body to his and he increased his rhythm, he wanted to take her over the edge and he could sense her approaching. He knew the signs, her lips becoming more demanding, her nails scratching on his skin lightly and her legs tightening around him.

"Is this how you like it?" He breathed against her lips and she just moaned, closing her eyes and biting her lips. By her lack of response he was tempted to stop and make her ask for it… but she was close and he just loved to watch her like that. "Or do you want me to stop?"

She opened her darkened eyes and smirked. "Don't you dare to stop now…"

He opened his mouth to reply but in that same moment he heard her phone ringing again. He could hear it very close and for a moment he lost concentration on what he was doing.

He tried to block the sound out of his mind so he could focus on the woman underneath him and after a while the nagging sound stopped and he shook himself back to reality.

He grabbed her by the waist and kept doing his thing, pounding harder until he felt her shudder and moan with her release.

Putting his mind in blank and letting his body dictate everything, he kissed her hard, swallowing all her moans while his hips shot forward so he could met her wetness. It was all too much and while her heat swallowed him he lost it.

It didn't take long for him to get all consumed in her and refusing to tear his eyes from her warm green ones, he followed her and reached the peak of his passion.

She held him against her, kissing his throat while he rode his release down. It took him a while to get back to his senses but when he did he slipped away from her and lay on his back.

"Jesus…" He groaned, closing his eyes and smiling his biggest smile. "If we keep like this you are going to kill me. I'm an old man now, you know."

Rolling over him and kissing him on the lips, Eve kept moving until she was on her feet. "You are not old, you are perfect." With that said, she kissed him again. "But I'll tell you what, I'm going to take a shower and after that we can grab something to eat. I'm starving."

Chuckling contently, John opened one eye and saw her walking naked towards the bathroom. He just watched for a second, unaware that before he opened his eye she grabbed the phone and took it with her.

Not that he had a coherent mind for that anyway, he was still riding high with passion and he was just thinking that if he wasn't already, he was very close to falling in love with that woman.

And he probably was, she was the only thought running rampant in his mind and when he was with her, things like facing the wrath of Lesnar seemed like a triviality, nothing to worry about.

Hopefully, she felt the same way, because if she was not, he didn't know what he was going to do with himself and what he was feeling…


	20. Chapter 20

So this is it, its been one hell of a ride but as all things in life, this story just came to an end. I'm taking the opportunity of John possibly taking some time off to end this because I don't want to drag this into eternity (besides when I give birth in a few months, I want to do it without leaving stories unfinished). Now, I didn't wait for Raw and I have no idea what will happen there, he could stay, Eve's character can go an entirely different way or what do I know; so for that reason I'll end this at Extreme Rules.

Also, I wanted to end this on a good note for John and Eve but the bad thing is that I don't know how to end stories, I always make them sappy and corny and maybe I did that here. I tried not to but we'll see.

And at last but not least, I want to thank all the readers and reviewers for sticking to 20 long chapters! Damn that's long… haha, anyway. Depending on things, I could make a short epilogue or when John comes back, I can make a one shot with Eve's POV. I won't promise it, but I'll keep it in mind if you are interested.

With that said, take care, ~Nani~

**XxXxXxXxXxX**

John was already in bed when Eve made it into the bus. He was sitting in a corner of the mattress, elbows resting over his knees, chin cradled into his hands and gaze lost in an undefined post in the wall.

He has been in that same position for a while now and even though he couldn't tell how much, by the way his back was protesting against such an uncomfortable position, he would say that a lot.

"I thought you were not going to show up." He said when he saw her enter the room, his voice coming off as raspy and tired.

And he really hadn't expected her, after all it was almost one o'clock in the morning and two hours had passed by since Raw was officially over.

If he has waited for her so long after the show, it was only because his mind was too stubborn for his own good and because deep inside he didn't want to think that she was ditching him in favor of the General Manager.

That would be like kicking him when he was down and he didn't want to think that she would do that after everything they had shared lately… he couldn't.

"I know and I'm sorry. It's just that Johnny wanted me to-"

"Johnny…" He said in a dry chuckle while interrupting her. "I didn't know there was so much familiarity between you two. By the way, I saw that he appointed you as his very special assistant." Oh, and he also saw the way the older man went to hug her as soon as he gave her such an 'important' job.

True, instead of going for the out of place hug, he took special notice in the fact that Eve went for the traditional handshake instead, but still… that right there had bothered him in ways he couldn't even explain to himself without using the word jealousy.

"Actually, it's Executive Administrator. Look," She said, walking to him and kneeling in front of him. "I know you don't like him and all that but this is an opportunity I can't pass up. John… I don't have the same opportunities that you do, I don't get things handed down to me-"

Allowing a dry chuckle escape pass his lips, John shook his head vehemently. "No, no, no… I don't get anything handed to me in this business. Everything I have and I everything I achieved it's because I work hard for it and because I bust my ass every single night in that ring."

"Well so do I, John. Maybe I don't do it from a ring, but I've never taken a day off, none of us do. But we don't get the same opportunities that you do and that's why I need to compensate. Listen, with this job I can do things I couldn't have done otherwise. Right now Laurinaitis listens to me and I can use this for I don't know, making the Divas division relevant again instead of the mandatory three minute matches we've been giving."

"So you are saying you are doing this for others?"

"No," She said, the lovely green of her orbs digging deep into his eyes. "In the long run, I'm opening doors for myself."

Snorting, John ran one of his hands down his face and took a deep breath. "Yeah… I remember clearly that you want it all. So what was it that Laurinaitis had you doing?" He asked because he needed to know if she would tell him.

In some way he was testing her; since Edge came out and said all the things that he said, he has been thinking about a lot of things and yeah, as always she has been one of those things.

But actually, more than a bunch thoughts piling up together, what he came up with was a decision, one of the most hardest ones he has ever made and knowing that Eve was to true to him would help him go through the transition.

Blowing out a breath, Eve shrugged. "He just wanted me to make a lot of phone calls. You know, to make sure Lesnar's demands would be fulfilled."

"And will they?"

Biting her lips and blinking a few times, Eve nodded. "Yes."

John nodded too. "Aren't you all too eager to make them happen? I thought he would get all that only if he beats me."

"They are sure that he will."

"Ah…" John said as his tongue pushed the inside of his lips. He has been expecting that answer. "What about you?"

"Me? I just want you to be alright. But let's not talk about work anymore," She said in a more cheerful tone as she rubbed his thighs through the rough fabric of his jeans. "How was the rest of your night?"

With his lips curving into the shadow of a smile, John bit the urge of blurting out that since Raw started, his night has been awful.

In fact, he was going to be completely blunt and he was going to call it the worst birthday of his life; not even his time with Eve could make it up to him and that was saying something.

First it was Edge coming out and making him realize a few things, then it was the fact that Eve was going to work close with Laurinaitis and then the last straw, the decision.

"I'm leaving."

Blinking a few times, Eve pursed her lips. "Are you going out with the guys?"

Shaking his head and biting his lips, John took in a deep breath. "No. What I'm leaving is wrestling."

For several seconds, Eve just remained still while looking at John. But then she spoke, laughing and shaking her head. "I don't think I understand…"

"I'm not coming back after Extreme Rules. I want… I need to take time off to put myself back on track. I'm burnt out, I'm mentally drained and I'm just not a hundred percent into my game." In fact, he felt like he has lost himself in the last couple of months and there was no possible way that he could go back to the person he has always been if he stayed wrestling.

Leaving was something that he needed to do. It was a hard decision but he was sticking to it.

Lowering her eyes, Eve slid a hand away from him and moved it towards her head, then as if she was confused, she scratched the beginning of her hairline.

"Is this because I took the job with Laurinaitis?" She asked, her eyes turbulent and apparently confused moving back to his face.

At that question, John opened his mouth to reply, but not giving him time, Eve went on, grabbing his hands and blinking rapidly.

"I'll tell him I won't do it, okay. Just… just don't do this."

Lifting a hand to her face and smiling despite himself, John tilted his head to the side. "You would do that? If I asked you, would you give up that position just so I would stay?"

Without thinking about it, Eve nodded.

"Why? I thought you wanted it all."

"I want you." She said, plain and simple, her eyes watering as she stared at him.

Almost at a loss of words of words, John grabbed her face in his hands. He never imagined that Eve would be so upset with his decision, but he wasn't going to lie and he had to admit that he liked it. But still…

"I'm sorry… I already made this decision and it is final."

Yanking her face from his touch, Eve got to her feet and with amazing speed she started to walk to the door.

It took John by surprise but he reacted accordingly, standing up and grabbing her shoulders so he could turn her around and look at her face.

"Hey…" He said softly as he noticed that she was crying. "Where are you going?"

Wiping angrily at her tears, the new Executive Administrator to both Raw and Smackdown lifted her head and looked at him dead in the eye.

"And why do you want me to stay for? You just said that you are going to leave me so what's the point?"

"That's not what I said…" What he wanted to leave was wrestling, not her…

Apparently not even minding what he just said, she shook her head and sucked in a breath. "I'm so stupid. I should have seen this coming, I mean you always wanted more than what I could give, didn't you? Well listen to this, I gave you everything I had; since the very beginning I was the one bending backwards, I was the one forgiving and forgetting the things you said and I was the one taking the blame for everything while you just sat back asking for me to shape up to the way you wanted me to be…"

"I never asked you to do anything, and even if I did you didn't have to do anything if you didn't really want to." He said somberly, his hands dropping from her face as Eve fought to keep her eyes from licking.

"You are right, I didn't have to. But I tried to please you in every way I could because I love you."

Blinking a few times while his lips formed a thin line on his face, John tried to register what she just said.

"What did you just say?"

Snorting bitterly and rolling her eyes, Eve tried to turn back on him. "Just forget it… what could I expect from somebody who can't even trust me."

Grabbing her once again, John pulled her to him and without giving her time to react, he kissed her long and deep until the need to breathe made him pull apart.

Then, resting his forehead against hers, he closed his eyes and licked the salty taste of her tears from his lips.

"I love you too." He said, "I don't know how that came to be when we are so messed up; all I know is that I love you to a point where it's not healthy."

"Then why are you leaving me?" She whispered, bringing her hand to his face so she could trace his lips with her fingertips.

"I'm not leaving you. If I could I'll take you with me and away from everything and everyone. But things are not that easy as that and you know it. But I don't know, we can work it out somehow; I'll have a lot of days off so you'll just need to tell the place and time and I'll be there."

Leaning forward, Eve kissed his lips briefly. "And how do you think you'll get that time off. You are under contract."

Nodding and opening his eyes, John ran his fingers down her back. "That's where I'm going to need your help, if you are willing that's it."

"What do you want me to do?" She asked.

"For now I just want you to tell me that you love me again and then you can just kiss me; the rest I'll think about it later on."

"I love you." Complying to his request, Eve said before kissing him, her arm circling his neck to kiss him deeper while John slowly dragged her to the bed.

The rest of the week went by quickly. With Eve's new position in the company John had to endure to sit and listen to her answer a lot of calls from Laurinaitis and her schedule has been a bit compromising; but trying to keep true to the promise that he was going to trust her above all, he just zipped it and tried to focus on his upcoming match with Brock Lesnar.

Besides Eve always came back to him, no matter what they did during the days, their nights belonged to each other and he made sure to make the best out of them.

By the night Extreme Rules came and passed by, John could understand why everyone expected him to lose. Lesnar was brutal in his attack and even though he ended up being victorious, he also ended up bloodied and hurting like never before.

He got the beating of a lifetime and he was surprised that he was able to walk back to the backstage area, following the EMT's as they lead him into the training room to get checked out.

At one point, while they were cleaning the blood out of his skin, Eve burst into the room, her eyes immediately searching for him and her face looking peculiarly pale.

It took John by surprise because they were not used to interact in public anymore, but trying to keep his head clear, he chuckled through his pain.

"Well look at this, Johnny Ace's personal assistance came to check on me. How sweet."

Pursing her lips and lifting her head almost petulantly, Eve's eyes settled on his. "It's Executive Administrator, Cena. But anyway, Mr. Laurinaitis heard you are hurt, is it true?" Her tone was cold and detached and if it wasn't because he could read the worry in her eyes, he would say that she had no interest in the subject.

She could be asking just to report it back… at least that was the impression she was giving.

"Well I think you'll be pleased to inform back to your boss that he finally made it, that he and his pain machine messed me up for good and I'll not be able to wrestle in a while."

Blinking rapidly, Eve looked at the EMT's. "What's wrong with him?"

"He seems to be in an extreme deal of pain. He lacks movement in his left arm but we can't say for sure. He needs to get some x-rays so we strongly advise him to go the hospital to get check out for any severe damage."

To that, Eve nodded and rolled her eyes. "Well you can go now; I need a word with him in private."

Not having to be asked twice, everyone left the room and once the door was closed, Eve rushed to John's side.

"Jesus, John…" She whispered as she leaned into him to hug him.

"Hey, no, no…" He mumbled and when she pulled back biting her lips, he tried to chuckle. "I'm sweaty and bleeding, you'll ruin your dress."

"Let me take you to the hospital."

"That's not necessary…"

"I'll tell Laurinaitis that I'll do it myself just to make sure of your condition. You are part of the talent and…"

Before she could finish, John lifted his left hand and then he let it drop to his side. "I'm fine; I mean I'm sore as hell and I can't seem to get the taste of my own blood out of my mouth but I'll be okay."

Taking a step back, Eve blinked, watching him intently. For her benefit, John lifted his arm once again, leaving it up in the air and then stretching it forward so he could brush his knuckles to her cheek.

"But I do need a massage so I think you can help after all… ouch!" He blurted out when Eve hit him as hard as she could in the shoulder while he was speaking. "Why did you do that?"

"Jesus, John… you scared me. I thought you were hurt."

"I am hurt." He said, looking up at her. "To everyone but you I am; I messed up my arm and I won't be able to come back in a while. Do you remember what I told you? Well this is where I'm going to need your help, you'll report to your boss that I'm fucked up and he'll believe you."

Taking in a deep breath, Eve looked down to her feet. She seemed thoughtful and it made John wonder.

"You are still going to help me, aren't you?"

"I was hoping you desisted of that stupid idea."

"I didn't. So… are you still in?"

Eve didn't say anything to that; she just closed her eyes and ran her manicured fingers through her hair.

"Hey…" He said as he grabbed her chin to lift her head to him. "Do you still have my back on this?"

"You know I'm still in, John, I just wish you wouldn't leave."

Leaning forward, he kissed her lips briefly. "Thanks."

"So what happens now?"

"I don't know." He said because he really didn't have a clue. He just knew that there was a possibility that his plan could back fire on him and that he could mess things for good. But right in that moment leaving seemed like the right thing to do so he was going to do it.

He just needed some the time off, his mind and body were demanding it and if he didn't listen, he would end up being seriously hurt; especially now that everybody was after him.

As for he and Eve, he could only hope that they could pull through; yeah her travelling could be a bit too much but if they both put effort into it, they could make it.

"But for now, why don't you tell Laurinaitis that you'll take me to the hospital so that we can sneak out of here?"

"To go where?" She said, walking closer and kissing the corner of his lips.

"Anywhere." John said, moving his face to the side so he could kiss her.

"Hmmm" Eve mumbled as she kissed him back; but then sound of the door being opened made them pull away startled.

"Oh, I thought this was… okay never mind." The Straight Edge WWE Champion said as he furrowed his brows. But then he snorted, ran his hand down his face and shook his head in amusement. "So instead of embracing the hate you embraced the Eve, interesting…"

"Fuck off, Punk." John said in amusement to the other man as Eve looked a bit mortified.

"Such a foul mouth, Johnny boy… ah but I didn't see anything okay. So I'll just… disappear." With that said, he turned around, walked out the door and closed it behind his back.

"John, what if…" Eve hurried to say but the older man shut her up with a peck on the lips.

"Don't worry about him and let's just get out of here. And by the way, I'll stick around until tomorrow after Raw and then I'll take you home with me. I won't argue about this so consider yourself warned."

"To your home?"

"Yeah, I mean if we are going to do this, we are going to make it good. It's true that we are still under the radar, but that doesn't mean that I don't want to keep you with me whenever I can."

Smiling, Eve closed her eyes and blew out a breath. "If it wasn't because I love you."

"I know, if it wasn't because you love me and I love you back, I would be lost. Anyway, let's get out of here."

Nodding, Eve kissed him once more before they both walked out together.

Now, it was true that the journey ahead was still to be traced, but in John's mind, it didn't matter because as far as he could see, things looked promising.

Then when the time to come back was right, he was going to return better than ever and who knew, maybe by then he could have the woman he loved completely by his side. Without hiding and without settling for little stolen moments…

And when that moment came, he was going to have everything he ever wanted. Until then, it was time for him.


End file.
